


MSBY, We Have A Problem

by catgod (yoonmims)



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Space, Feelings Realization, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Happy Ending, Hijinks & Shenanigans, M/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Miscommunication, Slow Burn, Space Exploration, this is just msby fucking around in space and sakusa being a gay with one brain cell for 50k words
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-02
Updated: 2021-03-02
Packaged: 2021-03-14 09:07:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 52,566
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29789622
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yoonmims/pseuds/catgod
Summary: Sakusa Kiyoomi has expectations for how his first interplanetary research mission is going to go. He’s going to join the crew, meet his team, and for the next three years they’ll have a professional yet cordial relationship, working together to explore and catalogue new planets.He should have known it could never be that simple—not with the MSBY Black Jackals, and especially not with Hinata Shouyou.
Relationships: Hinata Shouyou/Sakusa Kiyoomi
Comments: 29
Kudos: 108
Collections: Haikyuu Big Bang 2020





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Ah, finally I can post this absolute beast of a fic! How exciting! It was so so much fun to write, but also a Lot of work so I hope you'll all be able to enjoy the fruits of my labour!
> 
> Big big thanks to the HQBB mods for organising this event - thank you so much for all the hard work you put in to make this work, you've been amazing! Thanks also to my artist partner Vins @mortalatte, who has created the most beautiful art for this fic that I'm truly in awe of ;-; it was such fun to work with u!!!  
> also thank u to all my mutuals for all the love n support u have given me while I yelled abt this fic nonstop - special mentions to jessa for the fic title and to bao for making the beautiful fic graphic for this :') ilusm
> 
> Here you can find the link to [the beautiful art Vins created](https://twitter.com/mortalatte/status/1366775190852665350?s=21) \- pls go show it some love because it’s really gorgeous and she’s so talented :’)
> 
> Smallest disclaimer before you can throw yourself into this word vomit: despite this being a space au, it's primarily about planets and science rather than Actual Space. as an astrophysics student with more emphasis on the physics than the astro, and more focus on stars than planets, pls suspend your disblief if any of my terrible planet/ecology science doesn't make sense! I'm doing my best!
> 
> Without further ado, please enjoy!

The first thing Sakusa Kiyoomi notices about the ship he’s about to spend the next several years of his life on is that it is _big_. 

Taking up almost the entire space of the ISS hangar, it’s a hulking beast of shiny chrome and solid grey panelling, with hundreds of technicians swarming all over it like bright orange flies. 

His second, immediate thought is _I sure hope they hired a big enough cleaning crew for this._ He’s seen exactly how disgusting ships can get when they’re lived on for long stretches of time by entitled crew members who have never cleaned a day in their life and don’t intend to start now, and he’d rather not relive that experience if he can help it.

“So.” Meian Shugo, Captain of the ISS _MSBY_ and Kiyoomi’s current least favourite person, slings an arm around his shoulder, unaware of the way Kiyoomi’s whole body tenses up as he tugs him into his side. “Whaddya think? She’s a beauty right?”

Sakusa Kiyoomi’s third thought is this: “It’s rather ugly.” 

Carefully, he extracts Meian’s arm from around him and steps away, brushing down the lapels of his coat. There’s a frown on his face, lips curled slightly in disgust, but the effect is slightly ruined by the mask that covers the lower half of his face.

“What?” Meian says. “No, she’s not. She’s the newest design. An Intrepid-class voyager, designed for long-term research missions, but with all the high specs of the Defiant-class vessels.”

“So?” Kiyoomi asks. “Doesn’t mean it isn’t ugly. Just look at those engines - or are they thrusters? - on the back. They look like antennae. It looks like a slug.”

“It does _not_ look like a slug,” Meian insists. 

“This was top of the range, you said? I think someone lied to you.”

There’s a little voice inside Kiyoomi’s head that sounds exactly like Motoya telling him that pissing off the Captain of the ship he’ll be trapped upon _before he even boards the ship_ isn’t a smart idea, but who ever said Kiyoomi was smart?

“You’re definitely Sakusa-san, alright,” Meian huffs, looking down at his tablet and tapping away briefly on it. “Exactly like Iizuna-san told me you’d be like.” Kiyoomi allows a small, rare smile to curve onto his lips at the name of his old mentor. “Anyway, I have some matters to attend to, so I’ll have to leave you to get settled in by yourself.”

Kiyoomi gives Meian a stiff salute. “Thank you very much for welcoming me aboard your crew, Captain.”

Meian lets out a loud, booming laugh. “Thank you? It should be the other way round! I heard you were top of your class in the academy, it was pure luck that we managed to snatch you up for our crew. Iizuna-san didn’t think we’d manage to get you; I heard the I _SS Schweiden_ really wanted you for themselves.”

“I look forward to working with you,” Kiyoomi says stiffly, unsure how to react to the sudden compliment. If it were up to him, he’d be quite happy aboard the _Schweiden_ with like-minded crewmates like Ushijima. 

Meian reaches forward to clap Kiyoomi on the shoulder, and then clearly thinks better of it, retracting his hand with an awkward cough. “Anyway, welcome aboard, Sakusa-san.”

When he leaves, Kiyoomi is left alone in the middle of the hangar, hidden from the glare of the bright fluorescent lights under the shadow of the _MSBY_. All around him, technicians are rushing around - doing last-minute patches and checks, refuelling and refilling supplies. Most of them are young; fresh-faced graduates from the academy diving straight into the world of real-life space exploration.

Kiyoomi shivers. He’s expected to put his life in the hands of eighteen-year olds, to trust them to do their jobs correctly when just three months ago they were still living in dorms and getting their meals provided for them. If he had his way, Kiyoomi would never get on a ship without checking the credentials of every single member of the crew.

But, well, seems like he’ll just have to trust the discerning judgement of Captain Meian, who has Iizuna’s seal of approval which evidently means he isn’t entirely incompetent at his job. 

(Kiyoomi is definitely going to familiarise himself with the escape pods _just in case_.)

He’s already familiarised himself with the layout of the _MSBY_ , but it looks different in real life than it does on the schematics. Everything is bigger, and the corridors are longer, and there are so. many. people. 

Every winding corner he turns round, there’s another clump of crew, decked out already in their colourful jumpsuits and uniforms, chatting and laughing and breathing out hundreds of germs into an enclosed space that Kiyoomi has to pass through. It’s going to be a long three years, he can tell.

He has to pull up the schematics a few times, double-checking he’s on the right floor, that he’s followed the correct winding corridor, indiscernible from every other corridor on the damned ship, but eventually he manages to make his way to his quarters. The door opens automatically with a hiss as he approaches, recognising the communicator wrapped around his wrist and allowing him entry.

There are perks, Kiyoomi decides, to living upon a ship that decided to move several vital parts of its engine outside of the main hull, even if it means looking like a gigantic space slug. One of those perks is extra space. It isn’t a big room, but it’s large enough for a decent sized bed and all the amenities that normally come with a bedroom, along with a long desk and several screens set into the wall next to it. 

Piled upon the desk are several boxes and bags, scrawled writing reading ‘HANDLE WITH CARE’ and ‘FRAGILE’ on the side. Kiyoomi breathes a sigh of relief at seeing them. _They arrived undamaged._ He hadn’t had much faith in the young cadet to whom he’d entrusted the delivery of his specialised research equipment to the _MSBY_ , but clearly they knew how to follow orders correctly. None of the boxes look bashed, and they’re stacked neatly.

The exhaustion of the journey up from Japan is finally starting to set in now, tiredness weighing down Kiyoomi’s body, but there’s still so much to do. Unpacking his equipment and setting up his desk can wait until later - there’s a possibility he could set it up in the research teams designated labs, so he’s hesitant to unpack quite yet. He needs to change out of these Earth clothes and into uniform first of all.

Then there was meeting the rest of his team. Meeting the people that he was going to be spending the next three years working closely with. The people he was going to live with, eat with, camp out on uninhabited, never-before-visited planets with. The people whose hands he was going to put his life in, all in the name of research.

They’d better be good, and they’d better be tolerable. Kiyoomi has a blacklist of people that he wanted to work with precisely never, and a list of people whom he could tolerate for a few years. The list containing people he would actually like to work with contained only one name, and Ushijima was already confirmed aboard the crew of the _Schweiden_.

The members of research teams are highly coveted, Kiyoomi knows this. Motoya had once likened it to the baseball draft, every ship with a captain doing its best to secure the best crew for their ship. He’d had no say in his assignment to the _MSBY_ , nor to the team he was placed with, and he doesn’t like that. 

Kiyoomi doesn’t like surprises. They either had a potential to go well, or go extremely badly, and there was simply no way of predicting either way until it occurred. As someone who lives his life to the philosophy of being prepared for every outcome, this was his worst nightmare.

 _Meian hand-picked the team himself_ , Kiyoomi tells himself as he strips down, turning the knob for the shower and allowing the water to start pattering down, steam rising from the floor. _He knows my personality. He knows how I like to work. He wouldn’t place me with a team that were uncooperative, and didn’t assist me properly._

 _The Captain is an exemplary man_ , Kiyoomi tries to convince himself, massaging shampoo into his scalp. _He has many years of service under his belt, and a good track record, which means he would have been able to get first-picks for the crew draft. Every member of his crew is competent, and will cause no issues for my work._

 _I am not a totally uncooperative and hard-to-get-along-with asshole_ , Kiyoomi reasons, scrubbing soap onto his skin. _No matter who my teammates are, I am sure that I can develop a professional working relationship with them. Everything will go as I have planned. There will be no surprises other than the ones I have already accounted for._

He turns the knob, and the warm cascade of water shuts off. He can feel his wet hair plastered to his scalp, feel the water dripping down his body. “It will be fine,” he tells himself.

* * *

It isn’t fine.

“I am _convinced_ ,” Kiyoomi hisses, eyes narrowed, “that the universe is playing some sick and twisted _joke_ on me, because I can find no other logical explanation for why I’m being forced to suffer in this way.”

“Now, Omi-kun, don’t be like that!”

“I hope that a venomous worm-tailed dragon bites you in the ass, and that you die a very painful death,” Kiyoomi growls out, and Miya Atsumu’s smirk only widens.

Of all people he had to be put in a team with, of all the thousands of crew members qualified to lead and be a part of research exploration missions, Kiyoomi has the bad luck to be put with his least favourite person.

In the list of people Kiyoomi absolutely didn’t want to work with, Atsumu was in the first spot. In fact, Kiyoomi would happily work with every single other person on that list, just so that he _didn’t have to work with Atsumu._

He’s changed over the four years since Kiyoomi last saw him during their time at the academy, although he’s seen him in passing a few times since then. Always at a safe distance, making every attempt to remain unseen and unnoticed by Atsumu. Not like this, not up close, stuck together in the same cramped room while Atsumu sits atop a table and swings his legs back and forth.

That piss-coloured hair is still there, and just as atrocious looking as it had been, but styled in a way that makes him look less like an asshole teenage boy, and more like an asshole adult. That smirk is still there as well, affixed onto Atsumu’s face permanently. He’s bulked up, too, though Kiyoomi supposes they all have - scrawny teenage bodies giving way to adult muscles strengthened by years of training.

“Ya can’t pretend it isn’t nice to see a familiar face aboard the ship,” Atsumu says, wiggling his eyebrows as Kiyoomi scowls. “C’mon, admit it. Ya missed me.”

“I don’t think anyone misses torture.”

“Ouch! Words hurt, ya know?”

Kiyoomi doesn’t bother with a response, instead sliding into the chair furthest away from Atsumu. He takes the time to glance around the room. The area they’ve been given for the research team is spacious, the main space connected to the small hangar for pods by a decontamination chamber, and ample laboratory space provided. The room they’re in now is a meeting room of sorts.

A large round table sits in the middle of the space, and four chairs sit around it. _Four members of the team?_ Kiyoomi muses.

Atsumu must see the way his gaze settles on the chairs. “There’s four of us on the team,” he confirms. “Yer the third to arrive. We’re just waiting on the last one now. Cap said there were some issues…” His voice trails off as noise floats in from outside the room, ominous crashing noises and thuds. “That’ll be team member number two,” he says.

Kiyoomi can already tell he isn’t going to like this.

The door hisses open, and a head of messy, white hair pokes around. “Oh, you’re here!”

Kiyoomi sighs. “Hello, Bokuto-san.”

There’s no explanation for this. He must have done something to upset the balance of the universe, and this is his punishment for it. Bokuto stumbles into the room, a trailing wire still wrapped around his ankle. There’s a bright grin on his face, and a friendly warmth that Kiyoomi associates with non-consensual hugs in his eyes.

“Sakusa! Man, I haven’t seen you in years,” Bokuto enthuses, tripping again before finally untangling the wire. “How are you?”

“Terrible,” Kiyoomi deadpans. “I want to get off this ship and away from that man already.”

“Now, now, Omi-kun,” Atsumu drawls, chin resting on the palm of his hand and fingers tapping gently at his cheek. “Is that any way to speak to yer team lead?”

Kiyoomi scoffs. “You’re the team lead? What a joke.”

Atsumu’s cheeks flush red. “Yes, I’m the team lead,” he hisses. “Which means I’m technically yer superior.”

“Huh, does it?” Bokuto finally speaks up, looking away from where he has his nose pressed against the glass, looking out the windows at the hangar, watching people scuttle around frantically. “We’re all Lieutenants, aren’t we? That makes us all equally qualified.”

“That doesn’t count, Bokkun,” Atsumu says finally, swinging his legs back and forth lazily as he sits atop the meeting table. “It’s not as if we’re actually part of a navy or whatever, those titles are just placeholders. The only thing that matters is the research team. Therefore, I’m superior because I’m the team lead.”

“That just means you’re in charge of the team mission,” Kiyoomi drawls. “I’m Head Researcher, which means I’m the real head of the research team.”

“Team Leader is clearly superior to Head Researcher.”

“On what basis? This is a _research_ team. Research comes _before_ team.”

“Now yer just getting into semantics-”

Bokuto interrupts their bicker before Kiyoomi finally snaps and attempts murder. “Hey, has the fourth person not arrived yet? They’re really late, who are they?”

“Well, tell us then, Mister Team Leader?” Kiyoomi asks Atsumu, smirking as the other man lets out a snarling noise.

“As I was _saying_ , Cap told me they’re coming from outside Japan, so it’ll take them longer to get here.”

 _A foreigner?_ Kiyoomi wonders. 

“Outside Japan?” Kiyoomi can see Bokuto’s metaphorical owl ears prick. “A foreigner?”

Atsumu shrugs, looking bored. “No clue. As long as they’re not a scrub, I don’t care even if they don’t speak a word of Japanese. I just don’t want someone on the team who’ll drag us down and get in the way.”

“Oh, like yourself?” Kiyoomi asks. It’s just too easy to rile Atsumu up. At least there’ll be something to keep him entertained in the long months on here. Always a silver lining.

“Hey,” Bokuto warns, turning away from the window to frown at them both, arms crossed across his chest. “Can you two stop fighting?”

“He started it,” Atsumu says weakly.

Bokuto raises an eyebrow disbelievingly, and Kiyoomi lets out a quiet snort of amusement. “We’re a team, we need to get along, otherwise this is going to be a long three years.” Neither Kiyoomi nor Atsumu speak, studiously looking away from each other with petulant expressions. Bokuto sighs. “If you can’t get along by yourselves, I’ll make you wear the get-along shirt.”

“I look forward to working with you, Miya,” Kiyoomi rushes out.

“And I, you,” Atsumu says, a fake smile plastered to his lips.

This fourth team member had better double as a mediator.

* * *

The _MSBY_ is set to take off the next day, and so Kiyoomi spends his first night aboard the ship exploring everything it has to offer. It’s better to take advantage of his free time now. Once they’re off it’ll be full-time work: collaborating with Atsumu to plan what planets to visit and map their path across the galaxy, doing the research and preparing for the trips down to the surface, as well as offering his assistance to Engineering when they need it.

Kiyoomi stretches his arms out ahead of him, feeling the satisfying burn in his muscles as he does so. The artificial gravity up here in the ISS and aboard the _MSBY_ is close to that down on Earth, but slightly weaker, and he already knows if he doesn’t keep up with his training regimen he’ll feel the effects of it next time they visit somewhere with a stronger gravitational field. 

He’ll certainly get a work-out helping in Engineering, because they’re permanently always down a grunt or two. Getting covered in engine grease and steam isn’t Kiyoomi’s idea of a fun time, but the rules of the academy dictated everyone sort into a stream, and those wishing to progress into a research team doubled down into two streams, with the aim to have them at least be of _some_ use upon the ship between missions.

Engineering wouldn’t have been Kiyoomi’s first choice (or any choice at all, honestly) but he’d shown an unusual aptitude for it, and none of the other streams had appealed to him in any way. Despite the oil, the mess, the grease, the smell and literally everything else wrong about engines, there was something nice about how simple they were. If something breaks, it’s for a reason, and if there’s a reason, there’s a solution. Nice and simple.

Mostly. Sometimes things break for no reason and Kiyoomi considers just letting it stay broken out of spite.

Kiyoomi can faintly hear the sound of Bokuto’s booming voice along the corridor, echoing from behind towards him, and subconsciously walks faster. No, thank you. Not today.

He walks and walks, skirting past groups of technicians and engineers whenever he comes across them, further and further through the winding corridors until he stops and realises he has no idea where he is.

Glancing each way down the corridor, he looks for something - anything - to act as a landmark. There’s nothing except steel frame and metal paneling all the way down. The lights have started to dim slightly too, and up ahead Kiyoomi can see where they give away to empty blackness. The logical part of Kiyoomi knows this is because the lights are motion-activated in order to save energy, and that he’s traversed to a part of the ship rarely visited.

The cowardly part of Kiyoomi that cried whenever Motoya put horror movies on says _oh my god you’re going to die and no one will find your body for weeks until it starts to smell._

Fortunately, Kiyoomi has more than enough experience suppressing the cowardly part of himself. There’s a built-in tracker in the communicator on his wrist, so he just needs to pull up a map and he’ll know exactly where he is, and how to get back. It’s already approaching 11 o’clock, which means it’s time for bed.

The map flickers itself into existence as a hologram in the air above his wrist, blue lines sketching themselves out in the familiar shape of a particularly ugly slug. There’s a red blinking icon there to indicate his own location, and Kiyoomi squints at it. “Where the fuck is that?”

According to the map, he’s in the upper back half of the ship. There seems to be something of a viewing deck in the level above him, along with an elevator that can take him right back to the level he needs to be on.

Suddenly, the lights go out, plunging him into darkness. Kiyoomi freezes, and then breathes out again with a sigh. He waves one arm in front of him, and the light flickers back on. He must have been standing still for too long. “Useless,” he mutters under his breath, eyes rolling. “If the map can tell I’m here, why not do that for the lights?” He’ll never understand technicians and their desire to just not do the things that would make everything easier.

So, to the viewing deck it is. Although he’s enjoyed the chance to escape from the bustle of the main ship, where everyone is constantly rushing to do something or talk to someone, it’s rather too empty and dusty here. The air aboard the ship is already recycled and stale enough, Kiyoomi has no desire to hang around the parts of the ship that haven’t been touched or cleaned since the thing was first built.

It doesn’t take long to make his way to the viewing deck, and Kiyoomi feels a small exhale escape him in surprise when he scans his ID at the door and it hisses open to reveal what’s inside.

Calling it a viewing deck is exactly right, since the entire opposite wall is taken up with a wide reinforced window. Whereas most views from the _MSBY_ offer a beautiful view of the inside of the hangar, the back and forward facing windows face directly onto the double entrances to the hangar. Through the shimmering, rippling red surface of the shield, you can see straight out into the endless void of space.

 _It’s so big,_ Kiyoomi thinks for the second time today, stepping closer to the window to peer out. Darkness spreads in every direction, only interrupted by little pinpricks of light like diamonds sewn onto black velvet. In the bottom right corner, the edge of the Earth is visible, and Kiyoomi is reminded of the enormity of the universe once more.

It’s then that he notices he isn’t alone in the viewing deck. He hadn’t noticed the other person before, pressed up close to the window, staring out at space, messy hair and face cast in darkness.

“Oh,” Kiyoomi says.

The person turns to face him. The rippling red light of the shield casts swirling shadows across their face. “Oh,” the other person says as well. “I didn’t hear you come in.”

“You seemed preoccupied,” Kiyoomi offers, edging carefully back towards the door. He makes it a habit not to talk to strangers, especially those who lurk around in dark and abandoned parts of ships. The stranger is wearing casual clothes instead of a uniform. _He must have arrived today as well._

The stranger turns back to the window again, eyes wide and an awestruck expression on their face. “Amazing, isn’t it? It’s so… big.”

There’s no escaping now. “It is,” Kiyoomi says stiffly. “That’s why it’s called space.”

“I’ve never been off Earth before,” the stranger continues. _Ah, a newly graduated cadet?_ They certainly look young enough, and at least fifteen centimetres shorter than Kiyoomi. “I was really nervous, but seeing all this helped calm me down a bit!” They gesture out at the window.

Kiyoomi raises an eyebrow, and against his better judgement takes a step closer. “Looking at space made you less scared about leaving Earth?”

The stranger laughs, and it sounds like pure happiness. Kiyoomi can feel fondness tugging at his heartstrings already, and he’s only known them for ten minutes. “I know, right? Seems like it should make me more nervous about it, but I’m just really excited now! It reminded me that there’s so much out there to see and explore, and I’m going to get to do it! Isn’t that super cool?”

“I suppose it is,” Kiyoomi says.

The stranger turns their head and their eyes meet Kiyoomi’s, all big and brown and brimming with eager anticipation. Kiyoomi’s close enough now to see them properly, all messy ginger hair and bright, white-toothed smile. _This face, it’s familiar…_ “I’m Hinata Shouyou,” the stranger says, holding out a hand with a friendly smile. 

That’s when it comes back to Kiyoomi. The cadet from Karasuno. “Fever boy.”

Hinata turns bright red, spluttering loudly. “How do you know that name?”

“I remember you now,” Kiyoomi says, recognition colouring his tone. “I thought there was something familiar about you.”

Hinata sinks to his knees, hands clutching at his hair dramatically. “I thought everyone had forgotten about that!” he wails.

“Please,” Kiyoomi scoffs. “How often do you think something like that happens at the Interhigh? Especially after your school had just powered through Inarizaki and Nekoma. It was quite the upset, I don’t think many people just forgot about it.”

Although every word that comes out of his mouth is the truth - Karasuno’s plucky number 10 cadet collapsing mid-match against Kamomedai with a fever had been a shock to them all - Kiyoomi remembers how his own focus at the time had been less on the upset, and more on the player. 

( _How disappointing_ , Kiyoomi thought as he watched the match going on down below. Well, what was left of it anyway. While the coach carried off their fevered #10, the other cadets were steeling themselves for another offensive, but it was clear they wouldn’t make it through.

After all that… Kiyoomi curled his lip in annoyance. This was the team that had taken down Ushijima and the rest of Shiratorizawa in the earlier preliminaries? Taken down so easily by that team with the loud, annoying seagull boy? Kiyoomi had been looking forward to playing them, but it seemed he wasn’t missing much.

After all that, just to lose because one cadet didn’t know how to take care of himself and not get sick. How disappointing. 

“You look miffed,” Motoya said, speaking up from where he was sitting having his wrist examined. He’d taken a hard hit in an earlier match, and was worried it would be sprained. At least it was better than Iizuna’s injury, but they’d taken a hard hit. “Did they lose?”

“Yes,” Kiyoomi said simply.

“How unfortunate,” he overheard someone from his team say. “That poor guy.”

“I know,” another chimed in. “Getting benched with a fever… I feel sorry for his teammates now. How pitiful.”

How pitiful.

How _pitiful_.

Kiyoomi thought of every time someone had directed those words at him, almost mockingly. _Look at him, what a germaphobe, how pitiful he is. Look at him, hiding away from the crowds and never making any friends. How pitiful._

“Say,” Kiyoomi said, raising his voice slightly so that they could hear him. “Say that a meteorite came hurtling through the Earth’s atmosphere and hit someone on the head. Just be nice to the person. Everything else is unnecessary. If you’re just going to stand around talking loudly to each other about how you pity him, then I feel even sorrier for him. Nothing is worse than people telling you ‘you poor thing’.”

Motoya gaped at him. Having said his piece, Kiyoomi turned back to the ongoing matches.

Pity was something he just couldn’t stand.)

“Ah,” Hinata says. “Well, I hope from now on I can make good impressions and people will forget.”

Kiyoomi eyes him closely. Hinata had, despite his fever in the first year of Interhigh, shown himself as a promising cadet in the following years. Although they hadn’t made it through the preliminaries in the following year, they had in their final year, and Kiyoomi knows Kageyama went straight into the research crew of the _Schweiden_. He’d been a promising cadet back then, battling Atsumu for the honour of best in their stream, and depending on how Miya had slacked over the years, may have already overtaken him. 

Hinata had been more of a mystery. Kiyoomi rarely kept up with others, relying mostly on Motoya to keep connections for him, so he wouldn’t have even known if Hinata had taken the path many did and chosen civilian life after graduating the academy.

Not that it’s any of Kiyoomi’s business what Hinata is doing. He barely knows the other man, and has no intention to start now. He doesn’t associate with people who don't know how to take care of themselves, and he certainly doesn’t associate with bird-brains who never know when to be quiet. One in the form of Bokuto is enough, thank you.

“Well,” Kiyoomi says. “Good luck.”

“Bye-bye, Sakusa-san!” Hinata says with a wave. “I’m sure I’ll see you around.”

His loud voice echoes in the enclosed space, and Kiyoomi winces. _I sure hope not._

* * *

“Isn’t it exciting?” Bokuto says, elbows on the table and hands cupping his cheeks. “We’re finally taking off today!”

“Finally,” Kiyoomi repeats. “Then we get to spend three years together. Whoopee.”

Bokuto doesn’t pick up on his sarcasm. “I know, right? We’re going to be great friends, I can just tell!”

 _God, I hope not,_ Kiyoomi thinks. “When are we taking off?” he asks out loud. Bokuto hums.

“In a few minutes, I believe. They’re just doing the last checks of crew and supplies. But still no mysterious fourth team member,” Bokuto points out. “Could they have dropped out?”

“Not possible,” Kiyoomi dismisses it. “The Federation Regulations section 112.4 say there is a minimum of four people per research team. We’ll be unable to work if so. By the way, where’s Miya got off to? We’re supposed to be strapped in for take-off.”

“Are you concerned about him?”

“I’m not.”

“-because if so, don’t be! He said he would be here soon, he just had something to attend to.”

As if on cue, there’s the faint sound of the door to the research area hissing open, and Atsumu’s annoying voice talking loudly to someone. Footsteps approach, and then the door to the meeting room opens. “Hey, yer both here!” Atsumu says. “We’ve got team member number four!”

He sounds excited, and Kiyoomi experiences a sinking feeling in his gut. So far, nothing has gone his way, and he doesn't expect that to change now. Atsumu steps aside, and tangerine hair greets Kiyoomi.

“You,” he says simply, voice tired. “Of course it is.”

Hinata Shouyou smiles widely as Bokuto leaps up to envelop him in a hug. “Bokuto-san! It’s so nice to see you!”

“I can’t believe it’s you, Hinata!” Bokuto lifts the younger man up by his armpits and swings him around, a stray foot hitting Atsumu in the face. “Wow! Last I heard, you went to Brazil?”

“I did!” Hinata enthuses. Now, lit by bright white lights and not the faint red glow of the shields, Kiyoomi can see him properly, can take in the golden tanned skin that peeks out from under the rolled-up sleeves of his uniform. “I came straight from there to here.”

“That’s so cool! What was it like there? Were the beaches as pretty as they look? Did you take pictures with that giant statue? Man, I want to visit so bad. Did you meet any cool people there? Can you-”

Kiyoomi cuts in. “We’re going to be taking off in just a few minutes, so could we leave the catching up for later?” 

Just as he speaks, an announcement sounds over the tannoy. The person speaking sounds nervous, stumbling over every other word. “This is a ship-wide announcement. Could all crew please proceed to their designated locations for take-off. I repeat, can all crew please proceed to their designated locations for take-off.”

Atsumu points a finger at Kiyoomi. “Just so ya know, I’m only strapping in because the announcement said to. Not because ya told me to.”

“Whatever helps you sleep at night.”

There are four seats placed around the central meeting table, all of them with restraints hanging loosely down at their sides. The restraints are more of a formality than anything else, Kiyoomi knows, but he buckles in anyway. Unless they’re performing high-speed evasive maneuvers, the inertial damping more than accounts for any forces that would throw them around. But it takes a second or two to kick in, and he’d rather not go splat onto the nice clean windows of the _MSBY_ first day on the job.

His seat directly faces Hinata, who wiggles in his seat with barely restrained excitement. When he feels Kiyoomi’s eyes on him, he shoots him a bright smile. Kiyoomi finds it hard to resist the corners of his lips quirking into a smile in return. 

Atsumu, diagonally across from Kiyoomi, slumps into his chair with a sigh. “Well, I guess if we’re stuck here for a while until it’s safe to unbuckle, we may as well get our first briefing underway.” There’s a thick ledger sat on the table in front of him, pages worn around the edges with use. Kiyoomi doesn’t want to think about how many hands have touched that.

Clearing his throat, Atsumu flicks through the pages of the ledger, scanning the writing. “Hm, I don’t think we need to do that. That bit’s useless. Health and safety always takes too long, so we’ll skip _that_ -”

“Miya,” Kiyoomi growls.

“We should make sure we follow proper procedure,” Hinata says, still with that damn sunshine smile on his face. “We don’t want to miss something important.”

“Urgh, fine,” Atsumu says. “But we’re taking turns reading out all the boring formal stuff, okay? We’ll start with introductions.” He lifts his head to look around at all of them. “This feels a bit redundant, because we all seem to know each other, but I guess it’s useful to know what our roles are.”

“I’ll start!” Bokuto says energetically. “I’m Bokuto Koutarou, and I’m the team's Defense and Contact Negotiator! I’m not exactly sure what that title means, but I think I’m in charge of ensuring that we all stay out of trouble while on exploratory missions. Onboard the ship, I work in the Defense and Communications streams. Anything else?”

“Maybe a fun fact about yourself?” Hinata pipes up.

“Oh! I can speak lots of languages! Me and my fiancé Keiji have a pet cat and a parrot!”

Atsumu nods. “Nice. I’ll go next. I know all of ya already, but I’m Miya Atsumu, and I’m the team lead for the Black Jackals. Which means all of ya are beneath me.”

“Why couldn’t we get Osamu instead?” Kiyoomi muses, and Atsumu frowns at him.

“Silence from the peanut gallery, please. As I said, I’m the team lead, which means I’ll be in charge of choosing where we decide to visit, based on the research requirements. I’m in the Communications and Navigation & Strategy streams, so if ya ever need to find me, I’ll probably be on the Bridge. My fun fact is that my mother loved me so much as a child, she decided she wanted another one of me, so I have a twin called Osamu.”

“I heard that Osamu was born first, and you’re the extra.”

“That’s a lie!”

Hinata lets out a small ‘oh’ noise. “You have a twin! That’s so cool, Atsumu-san!”

“Thank you,” Atsumu preens.

“And now I know I wasn’t hallucinating when I told Kageyama I saw two of you at the Interhigh!”

Kiyoomi can’t contain his snickers anymore. “I can’t believe you didn’t realise they were _twins_.”

“Kageyama wasn’t sure either!”

Atsumu pouts, upset that he’s now become the focus of their amusement. “That scrub looks _nothing_ like me, I don’t know why everyone thinks we look the same.”

“You’re identical twins,” Bokuto says. “The clue is in the name.”

Sensing that their briefing is about to get side-tracked, Kiyoomi waves a hand in the air. “Alright, that’s enough. We need to focus, so enough about Atsumu being the spare child. I’ll go next. I’m Sakusa Kiyoomi, and I’m the research lead of the team. I have a major in Bioscience and Astrobotany, so I’ll be the one doing the bulk of our scientific research. I’m in the Engineering and Scientific streams. I don’t have a fun fact because I don’t want to get to know you all. Please don’t speak to me unless it directly relates to our research work.”

“Harsh,” Atsumu whistles. Bokuto, more than used to Kiyoomi’s cold personality by now, looks resigned.

Hinata doesn’t look deterred. “But Sakusa-san, we’re going to be working together for three years! Don’t you think it would foster better teamwork if we all got along?”

“No. I work perfectly fine alone, and you’d all just make everything worse.”

“Then we’ll have to do our best to prove you wrong,” Hinata says with a bright smile that hurts to look at. “By the end of these three years, I’m going to bet you’ll miss us!”

“Doubtful,” Kiyoomi mutters. “Please just leave me alone.” He wants to sink into his seat, to escape from Hinata’s overly peppy nature.

“Hinata, your turn,” Bokuto encourages.

“Ah, yeah! I’m Hinata Shouyou, and I have the very important role of Support for the team! I didn’t think it was that cool at first, but now I realise it’s the best. So I’ll be offering help to Sakusa-san as a research assistant, and to Bokuto-san as an extra pair of hands. Whatever you need doing, I can get it done! I’m really fast too, so I’ll be super efficient. My fun fact is that, hm…” He pauses, thinking. The thought briefly crosses Kiyoomi’s mind that a grown man shouldn’t look so cute when he scrunches his nose up to think. “Ah, my fun fact is that I spent the last four years training in Brazil to come here.”

“That’s a boring fact,” Atsumu says. 

“What? No it isn’t!”

“ _Boring_!”

“Atsumu-san!”

“As punishment for being a boring scrub, ya have to read the entire Health and Safety procedures section out.” Atsumu chucks the book at Hinata, who just barely catches it.

Hinata flips through the pages with a morose look on his face. “This is at least forty pages long. Doesn’t anyone else want to split it with me?”

Just then, there’s a rumbling noise from above them, and the ship jolts suddenly. They’re all pushed back into their seats, pinned by an invisible force. The ship must finally be taking off, Kiyoomi realises. He checks his watch. Only thirteen minutes behind schedule.

Across from him, Hinata clings onto the ledger. “Anyone?” he asks, hopefully.

Atsumu points at his ears. “I’m so sorry,” he says. “I can’t hear ya over the sound of the engines. What a shame.”

“Bokuto-san?”

Hand clapping onto Hinata’s shoulder, Bokuto gives him a fake smile. “There are some things as an adult you have to do by yourself. It’s like a baptism of fire. Good luck, Hinata.”

Hinata doesn’t even bother to ask Kiyoomi if he’ll help, and that rankles somehow. I mean, sure, Kiyoomi would turn down his offer callously. He’s not in the business of helping people lighten their own workload by adding more weight to his. He’s a big believer in putting in your own work no matter how hard it is. And he doesn’t even like Hinata! He doesn’t care for any of his new teammates, and he doesn’t want to help them out.

Somehow, he still finds himself sighing and reaching out to take the ledger from Hinata. “I’ll read the first few pages, and then you read after that. Got it?” His voice leaves no room for disagreement, and Hinata nods eagerly.

“Thank you, Sakusa-san!”

From the corner of his eye, Kiyoomi can see Atsumu wiggling his eyebrows. “Are ya picking favourites already, Omi-kun? Makes sense, Shouyou-kun is my favourite too.”

“No favourites,” he grits out. “I just want to get this over with so I can spend my time doing something actually productive.”

“If ya insist!” Atsumu puts his hands up, conceding to Kiyoomi. There’s a wicked look in his eye. “I saw the way ya looked at him though.”

“Looked at him like he was an annoyance, like the rest of you?”

And fuck, Kiyoomi didn’t think he’d been that obvious. He is, after all, only human. Anyone with eyes would appreciate how Hinata looks. He’s all bright dazzling smiles and wide brown eyes and tanned skin and muscles. Somehow the black and gold of their uniform looks even better on him than any others. Kiyoomi… well, he appreciates it. From a purely aesthetic standpoint.

But that’s it. 

Whatever Atsumu thinks he sees in Kiyoomi’s eyes as he looks at Hinata, he’s wrong. Kiyoomi’s here to work, and to get his job done. He has no interest in being distracted by trivial things like romance, and even less interest in developing anything more than a friendly professional working relationship with his teammates.

Yes, he decides, watching as Bokuto and Hinata compare the size of their biceps, and Atsumu begs to be included. He doesn’t want anything to do with them if he can help it, especially not Hinata.

It’s going to be a long three years.


	2. Chapter 2

_ [A monotonous beep, followed by the sound of a throat clearing.] “Lieutenant Sakusa Kiyoomi, Head Researcher of the Black Jackals unit, log one. Date: Year 2234, day fifteen of journ… [muffled yelling and chattering noises can be heard in the background, followed by a heavy sigh] Can you all be quiet, please? I’m trying to record a log.” _

_ [A loud, booming laugh.] “Ease up, Sakusa! It’s our first time planet-side!”  _

_ “Yeah, listen to Bokkun!” [A hydraulic hiss and click that signifies a helmet being put on.] “So who’s going to be first off the shuttle?” _

_ “Oh, me, me!” [The voice is young and excitable sounding. A solid thumping noise, like someone jumping up and down.] _

_ “No fair, I want to be first!” _

_ [Another heavy sigh.] “If you could let me finish the log...it’s standard procedure…” _

_ “Let’s do rock, paper, scissors!” _

_ “Oh, okay!”  _

_ [Shuffling noises.] “Ya too, Omi Omi.” _

_ “Rock, paper, scissors!” [There’s the sound of movement, followed by a groan and a whoop of excitement.] _

_ “Hah, I win!” _

_ “Oof, tough luck, Sakusa! Better luck next time.” _

_ “Okay, again! Rock, paper, scissors!” [More sounds of movement] _

_ “Ah, I win!” _

_ “Out ya go then, Shouyou-kun…” _

Kiyoomi sighs and turns off the recorder. He’s not going to get anything usable from this, not with those three yelling in the background. Turning back around to face them, he sees the three of them gathered by the exit of the shuttle, heads together like they’re plotting something.

“I hope you’ve all completed the safety checks,” he says, and three heads whip up to face him, guilty smiles hidden behind the visors of their helmets. Atsumu has somehow managed to fog his up already despite the material being anti-fog - Kiyoomi doesn’t understand how, but he rarely understands how Atsumu manages things. 

“Of course,” Bokuto boasts. “We are the pinnacle of safety. The height of research. The epitome of-”

“Your helmet isn’t buckled in correctly,” Kiyoomi points out dryly. “You would have taken one step outside the door and died if the atmosphere was unsafe.”

“But the atmosphere isn’t unsafe,” Atsumu says, ever the devil's advocate. “So it doesn’t matter.”

_ I am going to shove him out the nearest airlock _ . Kiyoomi can feel his eyebrow twitch. 

It’s the first real research mission. Their  _ first _ , and already Atsumu is courting death. Bokuto isn’t far behind, saved only by the fact that he’s too kind-hearted to ever rile Kiyoomi up on purpose. The one saving grace is Hinata, who for all his childish excitement and endless enabling of Atsumu’s behaviour actually has some sense in his brain.

“But it could be,” Hinata intercepts, saving Kiyoomi from having to spare oxygen on reciting the guidelines on safe procedure when visiting new planets (the guidelines that they had spent almost an hour reading over together). “Once we know for sure that’s safe, we can take them off!”

“Not that you would want to,” Kiyoomi adds on, fixing Atsumu with a piercing look, “since the pollen content of the air here is enough to give you severe respiratory problems after just a few hours of exposure. So, if we could all please keep the helmets  _ on _ and progress with our work, that would be nice.”

Atsumu has the decency to look suitably chagrined by his scolding. He was in charge of their team strategy after all, developing a plan and choosing planets to visit that would provide the means to satisfy Kiyoomi’s research. He was in charge of deciding where they went, picking suitable planets and ensuring they were well-prepared for the environment there.

“Alright, here we go!” Atsumu says, back into business mode, pulling Kiyoomi back to attention. “Bokuto-san, if ya accompany me out just in case, and when we’ve secured the area we’ll call Shouyou and Omi Omi out, okay?” Hinata nods at Atsumu, and then glances over at Kiyoomi. His expression, hard to read through the thick material of his visor, is different now. It’s more serious, focused.

Kiyoomi nods stiffly, and then the door hisses open, and Bokuto and Atsumu are gone before Kiyoomi can get more than a glimpse out of the shuttle. The door seals shut behind them, and Kiyoomi is left alone with Hinata. Beside him, the younger man is almost vibrating with barely concealed excitement, lower lip trembling as he attempts to school his smile into a neutral expression.

With the giant pack on his back, he looks like a child excited for their first day of school. Kiyoomi rolls his eyes, but there’s a fondness tugging at his heart that he can’t just explain away, a little lingering warmth at the sight of bright orange hair tucked away under a black helmet, and a barely suppressed grin. Maybe it was okay to be a little childish and excited sometimes. 

Maybe.

Sometimes.

After a few minutes there’s a crackle from their communicator, and Atsumu’s smug voice floating through. “All clear! Atmosphere passed the check as well, but ya might want to keep yer helmet on unless ya want a mouthful of pollen.” There’s the clear sound of a hacking cough that must belong to Bokuto in the background, and Kiyoomi just rolls his eyes, stepping forward to open the door.

“Idiots,” he mutters, brushing his hand against the sensor. “I already told them not to take off their fucking helmets.”

“You can’t blame them for getting a bit over-excited,” Hinata says, falling into step beside Kiyoomi. “It’s our first time on another planet, after all!”

“It’s  _ our  _ first time,” Kiyoomi corrects. “Bokuto and Miya have visited plenty of planets over the years, and they both seem to have lost more than a few brain cells on each of them.”

That startles a small laugh out of Hinata, just as the door finally hisses open again in front of them once more, and Kiyoomi is lashed in the face with a cloud of dust on the wind. He flinches instinctively behind his helmet. “Well,” he hears Hinata say, “they’re not that bad.”

“No, they are.”

Outside the shuttle is like nothing he’s ever seen before. The photos from the drone they sent down don’t do it justice. 

Atsumu had decided to play it safe and pick a planet as Earth-like as possible for their first mission, and Gladwu certainly fills that definition. Approximately 3 times Earth’s mass and radius, half of its surface area taken up by water, and a median temperature that sits comfortably at 29.5 Celsius, on paper it’s a perfect replica of Earth-like conditions, and perfect for life to grow.

In person, it’s a bit different.

The sky stretches on ahead, smooth and clear and deep blood red. There’s one of the two moons - the smaller one, Kle - just starting to rise on the horizon, bright white dulled and faded pink by the pollen that stains the sky. Beneath Kiyoomi’s feet, the ground is startlingly familiar, solid brown earth and green plants poking through. The sky casts a bizarre glow down onto everything, lush green forests that cover the landscape painted an eerie purple that will only deepen as the sun sets. Not that it’s going to set anytime soon, with a single day-night cycle taking almost a month.

They’re in the middle of a clearing, on the side of a medium-sized hill, and Kiyoomi knows from Atsumu’s briefing there’s a sizable river flowing nearby. The forest around them is wild; thick, dense brush prevents them from seeing inside it, and trees of all heights rise above the tops of the foliage around them. Inside his uniform and helmet, he can faintly hear the sound of leaves rustling and insects chirping, but there’s a distinct lack of bird sounds.

Beside him, he can hear Hinata making noises of amazement. “It’s so pretty,” he says, and then jumps up and down slightly. “I’m actually standing on another planet right now.”

“Come on,” Kiyoomi says, “we have work to do. Have you got everything?”

“Yep!” Hinata salutes, turning slightly to show Kiyoomi his pack. “I’ve got everything you asked for in here.”

Kiyoomi only hums, and then starts to walk to where Bokuto and Atsumu are poking around the sprawling roots of a tree that towers hundreds of metres high. The patterns on its bark are unlike anything Kiyoomi has seen before, swirling patterns and almost-geometric shapes that seem so different from the winding lines that decorate the trees of Earth. The branches of the tree hang down like a weeping willow, almost floppy as they dangle down on the trees around. The bright pink pollen that stains the sky every evening, distributed by the fierce storms that wrack the planet's surface, can be found here, nestled within the soft yellow buds that line the branches.

“Hey, look how cool this is!” Atsumu calls out. “Some of the roots have come out of the ground and connected to the branches.”

Bokuto and Hinata let out matching ooh’s of interest, leaning forward to look at where Atsumu points. He’s got a stick, poking at one of the roots, watching as the bark caves in and then springs back again like dough. Kiyoomi sighs. “Can you stop poking it? I swear, it’s like you’ve never learnt how to behave.”

“It’s not like it’s hurting it,” Atsumu insists, and just as he speaks the root starts to weep where he had been poking it, dark sap like black ichor dripping out of its wound. “Uh, oops?”

“Good job,” Kiyoomi says sarcastically.

“How was I supposed to know it would do that?” Atsumu snaps in response, hurriedly throwing away the stick he was using to poke it, crossing his arms behind his back. “It’s not like trees bleed back at home.”

“Ah, they do actually!” Hinata pipes up. He’s squatting down, carefully peering through the viewfinder of the camera Kiyoomi had entrusted him with, snapping pictures of the sap leaking from the root from various angles. “There’s a type of tree called a Bloodwood that bleeds red sap that looks like blood. It’s a type of wild teak from South Africa. Ah, Sakusa-san, do we want to take any samples of this sap?”

Atsumu shivers. “That sounds like a fucking terrifying tree.”

“Wait, it bleeds real blood?” Bokuto asks, horrified.

Kiyoomi does his best to tune them both out, responding to Hinata. “Yes, it would be good to get some. There should be some vials in…”

“In the pack, yeah,” Hinata says, letting the camera dangle around his neck as he starts to unpack. Kiyoomi just watches his back.  _ He’s surprisingly knowledgeable.  _ It shouldn’t come as that much of a surprise, since Hinata is supposed to be his research assistant after all, but Kiyoomi had thought he would be more of a ‘I ask you to hold things and pass me items’ sort of assistant, rather than someone who actually knew their stuff.

Hinata passes him a small glass vial, and Kiyoomi carefully uses a piece of twig from the ground to push some sap into the vial, and then caps it and slips it securely into its pouch. “I’ll get some bark and leaf clippings from this tree too,” Kiyoomi explains. “The blossoms and pollen too. We’ll be getting quite a few varieties of species here, so make sure you’re labelling them all correctly. Get Bokuto or Miya to take photos if you can’t.”

There’s a nod from beside him, Hinata already busy passing another vial to Kiyoomi, and entering information about the filled vial onto his handheld. “I’ll take photos,” Bokuto offers. “I’m gonna get really bored if this is all we’re doing for the next few hours.”

Kiyoomi fixes him with a long look. He’s not going to deal with anyone messing up his research work. “If you can promise that the photos won’t all be blurry. Besides, don’t you have a job you’re supposed to be doing?”

“Promise!” Bokuto swears, making grabby hands for Hinata’s camera. “And yeah, I guess, but it’s not like we have much need for a translator or bodyguard right now, do we?” He gestures around at the empty clearing.

He’s right, there’s nothing around that could warrant his assistance. Kiyoomi had always thought it was rather flawed how every team required a translator and a bodyguard, yet prevented research teams from landing on planets with intelligent native life. If all rules were followed, it made the job obsolete. Well, it meant more research assistants to order around for him.

“Miya,” he calls out. “You can offer a hand too, if you’re bored. You can get some leaf and stem clippings for me.”

“I don’t wanna do science,” Atsumu scoffs, busy draping the flexible branches of the tree over his shoulders.

“You can use the secateurs,” Hinata offers, waving them in the air.

Atsumu immediately brightens at the sight of them. “Okay, I could be convinced to help.” He takes the secateurs Hinata offers and snips them in the air a few times.

Kiyoomi points to a small pile of insulated bags with barcodes on them. “Put clippings from the same plant into the same bags, and then give it back to Hinata. Got it?”

“Got it,” Atsumu says, snipping impatiently at the air.

“Do not mix the samples,” Kiyoomi reiterates. “Then give them straight to Hinata to log when you’re done. Don’t take big cuttings, just a small sample is fine.”

“I know how to cut up plants, Omi-kun!” Atsumu whines, clearly eager to get going now. “Look!” He turns to the nearest bush and snips a stem off it, holding it up eagerly for Kiyoomi to see. “One sample, collected!”

“That has a torn leaf.”

“Fuck!”

“Don’t mind, Atsumu-san!” Hinata’s head pops up behind Kiyoomi, shooting Atsumu a thumbs-up. “You’ll get it next time.” Atsumu’s scowl wavers, and he grumbles to himself as he returns to snipping stems off plants and bagging them.

Kiyoomi returns to his own work, leaving the menial tasks to Bokuto and Atsumu and taking on the harder work of getting bark scrapings, root samples and other things. Hinata works beside him, much quieter and subdued now that he’s focused on his tasks. Kiyoomi watches him out of the corner of his eye, how his hands more quickly and expertly, handling the vials with care but efficiency.

“What did you major in?” Kiyoomi asks. Hinata jolts, looking up at him in surprise. He looks shocked that Kiyoomi had been the one to start a conversation, and Kiyoomi hopes Hinata can’t see the embarrassed flush on his cheeks through the visor.

He turns back to the ground in front of him, digging roughly with a trowel and faking nonchalance. After a moment, Hinata realises he needs to answer. “Ah, I didn’t major in anything.”

“You didn’t stay on for extra years at an academy? But you were from my intake year.”

“I went to Brazil after graduation,” Hinata explains, holding out a small pot for Kiyoomi to place a small sapling into. The plant is all curled in on itself, stems winding into a knotted ball that make it look more like a ball of wool than a real plant. “I...wasn’t good enough to join a research team once I graduated, and so I decided to go and learn more before trying again. Brazil has some good programmes, so I moved there.”

Kiyoomi hums. He vaguely remembers Hinata mentioning something similar in their first briefing, not that he’d paid any attention. “You know a lot about biology.”

“I had a lot of time to learn practically, outside of the confines of a classroom.” Hinata offers up information about himself readily. “I had a lot of ambition, wanting to join a research mission like this, but not enough skill. Going to Brazil was a gamble, but it paid off in the end.” He waggles the pot containing the sapling. “Here I am, standing on another planet.”

“Is it everything you thought it would be?” Kiyoomi asks.

“Rather anticlimactic,” Hinata frowns. “I was expecting something more exciting.”

“It  _ is  _ a habitable Earth-like planet. I sincerely doubt we’re going to be touching down on a planet that rains glass sideways.”

Hinata sighs. “I know, I guess I was just hoping for something a bit more exciting to start with. Y’know, like an active volcano, or six moons! Ooh, or some super cool weather, like winds that go whoosh, or surface liquid that’s all gasoline, wahh!”

Kiyoomi decides not to point out that none of those sound like interesting planets to visit at all. “I think I saw a planet floating around the database with a mean temperature of negative 188 celsius - is that ‘cool’ enough for you?”

Beside him, Hinata lets out a snicker that soon devolves into a full-bellied laugh, almost dropping his tablet as he grabs onto the nearest branch for support. “Was that a joke? Did you just make a joke, Sakusa-san?”

“The answer to that depends on if you found it funny or not,” Kiyoomi mutters. His face feels hot inside the helmet, and he decides to blame the temperature regulation system. Damn, faulty technology. 

“What’s this?” Atsumu’s voice comes, and without even turning to look Kiyoomi knows there’s an insufferable look on Atsumu’s face. “Omi-kun is cracking jokes now? Damn, what did they teach ya at the academy all those extra years?”

“Clearly, they taught me things they didn’t teach in undergrad,” Kiyoomi snipes, “since I’ve never heard you make a single funny joke ever.”

Atsumu just sticks his tongue out, but the effect is ruined when it comes into contact with the visor of his mask, leaving a slimy wet mark on the inside. Kiyoomi snorts. He turns back to Hinata, who is busy scanning all the samples and placing them carefully back into the pack. 

“This set’s almost full, Sakusa-san,” he says. “Did we want to go and deposit it back at the shuttle, and then I can bring the rest of the vials and pots to collect rock and soil samples with?”

Kiyoomi takes a moment to think, glancing up at the magenta-stained sky. “Yes, this will probably be enough for now. We’ll get some radiation readings too, while we’re at it, and set up the weather node to monitor.”

Something gets shoved under Kiyoomi’s nose, and he recoils in disgust when he realises that it’s a bug; the thing is disgusting, all black and green spots and more legs than necessary and violent pincers that sit at the end of a long snout beaded with angry looking red eyes. “Don’t want to take any little creepy crawlies back with ya?” Atsumu asks, waggling it with glee.

“I majored in astrobotany and ecology,” Kiyoomi says, voice as dry as the desert. “Not entomology.”

“So no bugs?”

“No bugs.”

Atsumu really is the most insufferable prick Kiyoomi has ever had the misfortune of being stuck on a three-year space exploration mission with. Why Atsumu, and not Osamu? Surely there must be a desire for high quality onigiri in deep space, Kiyoomi muses. An untapped potential.

Of course, it isn’t like Bokuto is-

Bokuto.

Where is Bokuto?

“Where did Bokuto go?” Kiyoomi asks. Atsumu freezes.

“Um…”

“Miya.” There’s a dangerous edge to his voice.

“He’ll be fine!” Hinata rushes to reassure. “I mean, he’s our security specialist! If he isn’t safe on his own, then none of us are.”

There’s a headache forming right between Kiyoomi’s temples. “Hinata, if you wouldn’t mind searching for Bokuto-san. Miya and I will take the samples back to the shuttle.”

He doesn’t wait for either Hinata nor Atsumu to protest, just takes the secateurs from Atsumu’s hands and presses the pack into them. “Walk,” he commands, jabbing at Atsumu’s hip with his newly reclaimed secateurs. “Hinata, we’ll see you back at the shuttle.”

Atsumu grumbles as he walks. “Why’d ya have to come back with me, huh? Coulda spent some time with Shouyou-kun while ya looked for Bokuto…”

“And miss the chance to make you do manual labour? No chance.”

Atsumu shoots Kiyoomi a foul look. “I’m surprised ya didn’t leap at the chance for one-on-one time with Shou-kun.”

Kiyoomi hopes Atsumu can’t see the way his spine stiffens. His face is obscured by his helmet, hiding the way his throat bobs as he swallows. “I don’t know what you’re implying with that.”

“Please, don’t act stupid.”

“I’ve never been stupid before in my life, and I don’t intend to start now. Unlike some of us, for whom it seems to come naturally.”

A thick curtain of branches hangs down ahead of them, blocking the path, and Kiyoomi reaches out to hold it out of the way while Atsumu ducks past, waddling under the weight of the laden pack. “C’mon,” Atsumu spins around to face Kiyoomi. His eyebrows are raised ridiculously highly, almost disappearing into that mob of piss he calls his hair. “Ya got a crush on him. Don’t lie.”

Kiyoomi can’t help but let out a derisive laugh. “Are you joking?”

“No!”

“I don’t have a crush on Hinata Shouyou,” Kiyoomi says with confidence. “Why would you even think that?”

“Oh, I dunno,” Atsumu says. “The way ya like him best out of all of us-”

“-that’s not hard-”

“-you were saying more than two sentences to him earlier-”

“-I’ve been known to enjoy intelligent conversation on occasion-”

“-and yer face does that thing!”

Kiyoomi stops in his tracks. “My face does not do a thing.”

“It does.”

“Does not.”

“It’s like it goes all gooey and melty, and ya look like ya aren’t about to throw up for once.”

“That’s not a  _ thing _ .”

“Ya let him touch your lab equipment.”

“He’s my lab assistant,” Kiyoomi says dryly, beginning to lose patience. “Come on, Miya, you can’t seriously believe yourself.”

“You’ll see,” Atsumu responds with confidence. “When ya finally realise how sickening you act around him, and when everyone else starts to notice too, then I’ll-” He lets out a muffled yelp as he trips, face-planting directly into the dirt. “Fuck.”

“Whoops,” Kiyoomi’s voice is flat, sidestepping around Atsumu’s prone body.

Atsumu lifts his head to glare, mud smeared all across his visor. “Help me up, bastard.”

Kiyoomi juggles the secateurs in his hands. “Don’t feel like it.”

“Sakusa Kiyoomi! Omi-kun! Get back here!”

Kiyoomi just keeps walking. “Shouldn’t have made up lies then,” he calls back, putting one foot in front of another and leaving Atsumu behind to scrabble in the dirt.

He doesn’t have a crush on Hinata. He doesn’t! How preposterous. How blatantly wrong and untrue. He’s only known him for barely a week, and in that time they’ve hardly spoken outside of group mission planning meetings. Even for someone who wasn’t as emotionally stunted as Kiyoomi, it would be too soon for a crush. It’s too soon even for friendship, because so far the extent of their conversations have been Kiyoomi asking Hinata about science, and Hinata telling him about science. That’s not exactly the height of romance.

No, Atsumu is wrong.

Kiyoomi would never like someone like Hinata.

Never.

* * *

**Log 4 - Day 32 - Planet 3**

**Research Team Black Jackals, aboard the** **_ISS MSBY_ **

**Planet Specifications: Earth-like, with breathable atmosphere. 65% surface water. Volcanically active. Dipolar magnetic field. Planet supports archosauriform life.**

Bokuto’s midway through a sentence when one of those damn giant birds - and really, they were probably more biologically similar to dinosaurs than to modern day Earth birds, but they had so many feathers Kiyoomi couldn’t  _ not _ call them birds - swoops down and plucks him from the middle of their group.

The four of them had been travelling back to the shuttle together, packs laden down with plenty of samples, and the equipment they’d set up two days ago had managed to collect plenty of readings. It had been a decent mission, all things considered.

That was until they’d come across the birds.

Kiyoomi had been skeptical at first, when Atsumu had proposed this planet in a meeting. They needed data from Earth-like planets, that was true, and this one  _ was _ within a reasonable distance of their current location. But he’d been cautious of the great big ‘WARNING: DANGEROUS LIFEFORMS’ sign slapped on the planet file.

Atsumu had waved him off. “How dangerous can some birds be?” he’d said. “I think Bokkun could take a bird on, don’t you? Besides, we’d really be doing the team from  _ EJP Raijin _ a favour, because they need planet-side confirmation of the existence of these birds before they can visit and do their job. It’s a win-win situation for all of us!”

It turns out that birds can be very dangerous.

Kiyoomi only gets a retreating glimpse of the bird as it carries Bokuto off, but it’s the size of a small tank, and just the talons alone are as long as his arm. Its wingspan must be at least 12 metres, even bigger than the largest pterosaurs had been back on Earth.

Never again will Kiyoomi let Atsumu pick a planet with the alien equivalents of dinosaurs on it.

“Bokuto-san!” Hinata calls out, but they’re already too far away. “Oh my god. It just took him.”

“This is going to make an interesting mission report,” Kiyoomi says dryly, trying to cover up the panic he feels that a giant bird could swoop down and grab him at any second. He looks down at his communicator, typing out a semi-panicked message to the  _ MSBY _ . “I can’t wait to see Miya find a diplomatic way to say that our defense specialist got stolen by a giant bird.”

Hinata takes off before any of them can stop him. “I’ll follow it!”

“Wait, Shouyou-” He’s gone before Atsumu can finish talking, and the man sighs. “I guess we’d better follow them.”

“We’re sticking to the tree cover,” Kiyoomi insists. “I don’t want to be stolen by a giant dinosaur bird, thanks.”

They’re located on the edge of a forest, surrounded on all sides by hills and valleys covered in sparse woodland. The bird - and Hinata, who had chased after it - had disappeared up the slope of a nearby hill, and if he cranes his neck up Kiyoomi can see how cresting the top of the hill is a huge tree. It’s easily taller than all of the hills around by itself, the tip disappearing into the thick cloud layer that blankets the planet.

“That’s one big tree,” Atsumu says in awe. “Like the world tree or something.”

“The what tree?”

“Nevermind.”

The two of them shoulder their packs and follow the trail Hinata had left through the woods. He’s long gone now, but the snapped branches and footprints in thick mulch he left behind remain. Around them, the trees remind Kiyoomi of the evergreen trees of Earth. There’s a distinctive smell in the air that reminds him of pine forest, except it’s entirely different. More sour, and less woody. It’s not unpleasant.

As they go, he stops to take more clippings or bark scrapings whenever they come across a tree or plant they haven’t seen yet on this planet. Atsumu fidgets from foot to foot behind him. “Why are we bothering with this stuff? Bokkun and Shouyou-kun need our help, we need to hurry.”

Kiyoomi carefully drops a thin strip of bark into a test tube, and seals it closed. “Unless you have any idea of how we’re going to fight that giant bird, I think a rescue mission is out.”

“While we’re here collecting clippings it could have killed them already!”

“This only takes a second, we’re not losing much time.” He fixes Atsumu with a glare as the test tube is slipped back into his pack and they keep walking. “Really we should be leaving this to the experts. The captain already said he’d send down some support team members. It would be a far more productive use of our time to head back to the shuttle and wait for help to arrive, rather than chasing Hinata through the woods.”

“It’s hardly chasing if we’re walking,” Atsumu points out.

“I don’t run unless  _ I’m _ being chased,” Kiyoomi retorts. A loud, piercing screech fills the air behind them, another giant bird circling above the forest in search of prey. Kiyoomi winces. “I can be convinced to speed walk, however.”

At their renewed pace, they reach the edge of the forest in just another short thirty minutes. The bird had screeched again at one point, and Kiyoomi had, in his surprise, tripped over a root. There’s a dull stabbing pain in his ankle now whenever he puts weight on it, and the purpling bruise on his cheek throbs.

_ I should have stayed at the shuttle. No, I should have stayed on Earth, doing research work at HQ rather than trekking out here to be attacked by giant birds all day. Then I wouldn’t be here, right now, getting divebombed by- _

If Atsumu hears Kiyoomi grumbling behind him, he doesn’t comment on it. “The tree looks way bigger from here,” is all he says. Reluctantly, Kiyoomi raises his head to look.

The trunk of the tree must be at least a hundred metres in diameter - maybe more, Kiyoomi can’t tell - and towers above them like a skyscraper. It blocks the entire view of the valley beyond it with its trunk and sparse branches located all around. Further up, there are clumped patches of foliage at varying heights, getting closer and closer together until the very peak of the tree is fully shrouded in dark leaves. Either it was always like this, or somewhere between ‘normal tree size’ and ‘absolutely fucking gigantic tree size’ it started losing leaves, resulting in the threadbare appearance it currently sports.

When Kiyoomi walks closer and peers around it, he can see that there are identical looking trees on top of almost all of the surrounding hills. Some of them are even larger than the one that proudly sits atop this hill, but some of them are smaller. As he squints, he can see the movement of small creatures against the grey clouds. Giant birds, at such a great distance they look like nothing more than mosquitos.

There’s an odd round bulge shape at the very top of the other trees, and looking up Kiyoomi notices the same is true for theirs. It’s hard to hear with his suit on currently, but the sounds of birds squawking and chirping reaches them even down on the ground. “Those birds nest up there,” he says.

Atsumu nods beside him. “So then Bokuto is…”

“All the way up there.” Kiyoomi squints. “We’re definitely going to need the shuttle for this.”

“I hope he’s okay.”

“I’m sure he can take care of himself. He is our defense specialist after all. If anyone can look after themselves, it’s Bokuto-san.”

“Aw, Omi-kun, that almost sounded like a compliment.”

Kiyoomi scowls. “That said, I’m not particularly pleased that both of our defense specialists are gone. What’s the point in bringing them if we’re just going to be left to fend for ourselves?”

“I’m perfectly capable of fending for myself, thanks.”

The shriek of a bird from above catches their attention again, heads snapping up just in time to see something hurtle from the nest above. It rockets down towards them, getting bigger and bigger with every passing second. “That had better not be a bird,” Kiyoomi groans. “Why did we have to come here? I’m an astrobotanist, not an ornithologist!”

“Yer gonna to be birdfeed in a minute if ya don’t run,” Atsumu hisses, and they both take off. With the packs on their backs weighing them down they can’t move fast enough, and the treeline is still a few metres away when the sound of flapping wings reaches their ears. 

A gust of wind bowls them both over, quickly followed by the triumphant screech of the giant bird.  _ This is it _ , Kiyoomi thinks as he scrabbles in the dirt, attempting to get to his feet and keep running.  _ Is this really how I die? Face-down in the dirt with Miya Atsumu as a giant bird eats us? _

For once, however, the universe is on their side.

“Woah, hey, calm it down Feathers! They’re friends, remember? We don’t eat friends!”

Kiyoomi pauses. He knows that voice. Twisting to look over his shoulder, he says: “Bokuto-san?”

With one last shake of its feathers, the giant bird settles to the ground, tucking its wings close up against its side. Up close, Kiyoomi can see how stunning it is. It’s got a beak lined with sharp teeth like a goose, and then iridescent coloured feathers that fan out around it. The colour gradient changes from blue to green to yellow to red, and then eventually to brown at its lower neck, leading to flecked gold and brown feathers on the rest of its body. It’s beady red eyes are as big as Kiyoomi’s head alone, and it towers above him and Atsumu at almost the same size as a house.

But that isn’t what catches his attention.

There, on its neck, are Hinata and Bokuto, with colourful feathers clutched tightly in their hands and bright grins on their faces. “Hey, Sakusa,” Bokuto calls down. “We made a friend.”

“A friend,” Atsumu says weakly, and collapses into the ground. “Of course.”

Kiyoomi can barely believe his eyes. “You… befriended it? The giant bird who kidnapped you?”

Bokuto gives it a solid pat on the neck, and the bird preens. “Oh, yeah! It was all just a misunderstanding, you see. Feathers here thought we were food, but we’re friends!”

“She’s very friendly,” Hinata adds. 

“Can we keep her?” Bokuto asks with stars in his eyes. “Please?”

“No.”

“Please!”

“First of all,” Kiyoomi says. “I don’t think we have anywhere to keep the five metre tall prehistoric bird.” He pauses, struggling for words. “I’ll be honest, I don’t have a second point here. The answer is still no.”

“Aw.” Both Hinata and Bokuto pull matching pouts.

“How did you even get up there?” Kiyoomi asks Hinata. “Did another bird snatch you?”

“Oh, I climbed.”

“You what?”

“I climbed up,” Hinata says, with that casual bright smile still on his face. “It was fun. The views are really amazing from the top. I wish I had the camera.”

Kiyoomi looks over at the several-hundred-metre-tall tree, and then back at Hinata, all five-foot-eight of him. “Did you really climb it?” 

Hinata nods enthusiastically, hopping down from the birds back and coming to offer Kiyoomi a hand up. He takes it reluctantly, staggering to his feet. The bird is no less imposing when viewed standing up, no matter how much Bokuto pets it. “It was easier than it looks. I’ve always been a good climber.” He flexes his arms in demonstration. “Gotta put these muscles to good use!”

_ That’s hot,  _ the horny part of Kiyoomi’s brain says.

“Huh,” Kiyoomi says faintly, eyes unable to move on from Hinata’s arms, and the mental image of Hinata using those muscled arms to climb. Rather than dwell on his unfortunate attraction to Hinata, he decides to banish it instead.  _ Think of sensible things, Kiyoomi. Use your rational brain.  _ “It’s rather irresponsible to climb without a harness. What if you fell?”

“Don’t worry,” Hinata assures him. He tugs at his belt, drawing Kiyoomi’s attention. There’s climbing equipment hooked there; several carabiners dangling alongside some rope and pitons, and some other equipment Kiyoomi doesn’t recognise. “I didn’t climb unassisted! I was being careful.”

_ Oh god, that’s hotter, _ Kiyoomi’s brain thinks.  _ Why is that hotter? _

He clears his throat. “Well, good. I’m glad you’re following proper procedure.” He gestures back at the forest. “I think that maybe we should head back to the shuttle now. We’ve had enough excitement for one day.”

“Are you sure we can’t keep Feathers?” Bokuto calls over, stroking hands along the sleek feathers on the birds underbelly.

“Absolutely not.”

“But-”

“If you ask one more time I’ll leave you here with that damn bird.”

“Wait, no, come back! Keiji will be mad if I choose a bird over him! Atsumu, Sakusa, stop walking away! Hinata, not you too!”

As they walk back, Bokuto’s yells catching up swiftly with them from behind, Kiyoomi adds ‘planets with birds’ and ‘any planet with any scalable structures’ to his list of banned locations to visit.

Never again, he says.

* * *

_ [The sound of laughter from several different people, despite their best attempts to get it under control] “This is… this is… L-Lieutenant... Sakusa Kiyoomi, Head Researcher of the Black Jackals unit- [The person speaking dissolves into barely contained snickers again.] _

_ [A new voice speaks, sounding irritated.] “It ain’t fucking funny!” _

_ [More laughter] _

_ “I’m sorry, Atsumu-san, but it’s really funny. You look…” [Laughter continues.] _

_ “I’ll do the damn log myself then!” [A fumbling noise, like someone is snatching the recorder away from someone else.] “Fuck, how does this work?” _

_ “It’s already on, you idiot. You should be glad it’s only an audio recorder and not video. Bokuto-san, make sure you take some photos of this.” _

_ “Don’t ya dare!” _

_ [A camera shutter.] “Sorry, Atsumu! It’s for science, you see?” _

_ “I hate all of you.” [A heavy sigh.] “Okay, uh, shit. I’m Lieutenant Miya Atsumu, blah blah blah. I’m going to skip all the boring stuff. We’re on this damn planet, called Cite or something. It’s basically an ocean planet, with 98% surface water or something like that. This is, what, the tenth planet we’ve visited?” _

_ “Eleventh!” _

_ “Thanks, Shouyou-kun. Anyway, this is the eleventh planet. So far, it’s exactly as we expected. No signs of life. Seems like any sea critters there are stick to the deep waters, which is good for us because I don’t want another bird incident.” _

_ “I liked the bird incident.” _

_ “Me too!” _

_ “That’s because you two are half-bird, half-human. I’d rather never associate with those disgusting creatures again, thank you.” _

_ “Aw, Omi-san, don’t be mean!” _

_ [Voices fade into the background as Atsumu, who holds the recorder, sighs and presumably brings it closer to his face, increasing the volume of the audio.] “Okay, well, I’ll leave those two to their weird flirting ritual. Thank fuck this isn’t a video recorder, because I don’t think anyone wants to see those two doing their thing.” _

_ “I think it’s sweet.” _

_ “Ya would think it’s sweet, Bokuto. That’s because ya don’t know Omi-kun like I do, and ya don’t think it’s weird and gross to see him go all soft and mushy for sunshine boy over there.” _

_ “He doesn’t go that soft and mushy.” _

_ “Shouyou-kun draped himself over Omi’s shoulders the other day, and Omi didn’t even tell him to get off! I existed in the same room as Omi once after a work-out and he sprayed me in the eye with antibacterial spray. He’s soft on him, I tell ya.” _

_ [A scathing tone of voice from afar.] “Whatever you’re saying is being recorded onto the official log, you know.” _

_ “Oh shit. Uhh, everything I just said was a lie. No truth there.” _

_ “Mhm! We’re all just very good teammates here!” _

_ “Omi-kun has never felt human emotion towards someone else in his life, definitely.” _

_ [A heavy sigh.] “Either record the log properly, Miya, or give it here, I’ll be sure to tell them all about what the water here did to your hair.” [A loud squeaking noise follows the words.] _

_ “Nothing happened to my hair!” _

_ [Giggling.] “You don’t need to be shy, Atsumu-san! It looks nice!” _

_ “It’s rainbow-coloured now!” _

_ “It almost suits you, Miya.” _

_ “Shut it!” _

_ “Either way, it’s useful evidence that the mineral components of the water are something interesting. I’m sure the lab results will be illuminating, just like Miya’s hai-” [The speaker dissolves into quiet laughter.] _

_ [Another sigh.] “Yeah, yeah, laugh it up! I’m sure ya would look great with fuckin’ rainbow hair too.” _

_ “Oh, you think so?” _

_ “Bokuto-san, no-” _

_ [A splashing noise, like someone dunking their head underwater and then pulling it out, and then the sound of water dripping onto wood.] “What do we think?” _

_ [There’s a long silence, in which only the sounds of water lapping against wood can be heard, It suggests the speakers are on a boat in a body of water somewhere. Finally, the silence is broken by a tired huff.] “Let’s turn this off before we incriminate ourselves anym-” _

_ [Audio cuts out - Log end.] _

* * *

_ MSBY Black Jackals Research Team Mission Report _

_ Team Members: _ _ Miya Atsumu, Sakusa Kiyoomi, Bokuto Koutarou, Hinata Shouyou _

_ Samples collected: _ _ bark scrapings, branch clippings, leaves, root samples (x32 different tree species); dirt/soil samples (x15), rocks (x53), water (x7), bush leaves (x3), flowers (x17), … _

“These leaves are really cool!”

Kiyoomi looks away from the preliminary report he’s writing up to see Hinata holding up a leaf. It’s almost the size of his face, and curled around itself like a bud. It isn’t curled up completely, however, leaving an open hole into the centre of the bud. “Why isn’t that in a bag?” Kiyoomi asks. “It’s dangerous to get it out when we haven’t done our analysis on it yet. It could be poisonous.”

Hinata shrugs. “I’m not sure, it was out when I got to it. But don’t worry, I made sure I was wearing gloves!” He waggles his gloved fingers at Kiyoomi. “See?”

Swivelling in his chair, Kiyoomi turns back to his report. “Make sure you bag it up again anyway. You never know whether it could secrete an airborne poison.” He tugs his mask further up his nose. Whichever idiot had taken it out was going to face his wrath later, after he’d disinfected the entire lab (again).

“Got it!”

Satisfied that Hinata isn’t going to distract him again, Kiyoomi returns to his work. He’d lost rock-paper-scissors with the others, and now he’s saddled with writing up their most recent report. It could have been worse, however. At least this mission had been easy; a simple ‘turn up, wander round, grab the samples and go’ type of mission. Thank god for small mercies.

Behind him, Hinata makes a considering noise. “It looks like this sample might be damaged, Omi-san. Looks like the other leaf we took had some kind of pistil inside the leaves - this one’s got it, but it’s broken and missing the stigma from the end.”

“Missing?” Kiyoomi frowns, swivelling around in his chair. Since they last spoke, Hinata has donned a mask of his own, and Kiyoomi gives an internal nod of approval. “Do you think it broke off when it was removed from the bag?”

“Maybe, but there’s no way of telling. The broken one does look more dehydrated, though. The leaves are dry and yellowing quicker than the other one, but they were taken at the same time.”

“Hm.”

“I’ll put it aside with the other damaged samples,” Hinata says with a smile, already picking up a pen to scribble on the label and mark it as damaged.

“Good.”

Once more, Kiyoomi swivels back to his report. This time he doesn’t even get to put his fingers on the keyboard before the door to their lab swishes open and Atsumu comes stumbling in. He’s dragging a bewildered-looking Bokuto behind him. “Guys, I think there’s something wrong with Bokkun.”

Hinata immediately abandons what he’s doing, wide-eyed. “What? Is Bokuto-san okay?”

“Hey, Hinata!” Bokuto says when he sees him, bright grin already stretching across his face. “You’re my favourite member of this team, did you know that?”

“You’re my favourite too, Bokuto-san!” Hinata says enthusiastically, reaching up to answer Bokuto’s hi-five. “Atsumu-san, you’re my favourite too!”

“I’d better be,” Atsumu huffs. “Leaving Omi-kun out, are ya?”

Kiyoomi flinches when that sunshine smile is turned on him. “Omi-san is my favourite as well.”

“Ya can’t have three favourites, that defeats the whole point of it!”

“Aw, but I really can’t choose.”

Not bothering to entertain Atsumu’s ego any longer, Kiyoomi cuts across them. “What exactly did you say was wrong with Bokuto-san? He seems the same as normal.”

Atsumu waves his hands in the air. “He’s not, I promise! He’s been saying really weird shit to the rest of the crew.”

“What sort of things?”

“He’s just being really honest. He told Meian-san that his haircut made him look like a DILF.”

Kiyoomi almost chokes, quickly hiding it as a cough. “Bokuto-san did that?” The visual of Bokuto, of all people, bluntly telling their captain he looks like a dad he’d like to fuck is not something Kiyoomi ever wanted in his mind. Across the room, Hinata looks confused.

“I’m telling ya,” Atsumu says emphatically. “He’s being really blunt with everyone. It’s kind of creepy, to be honest. I never knew Bokuto was hiding so much.”

Hinata nods sagely. “It’s always the ones you least expect.”

“So, what, we think that Bokuto’s body-swapped with Miya?” When both Hinata and Atsumu shoot him an incredulous look, Kiyoomi raises an eyebrow. “You said he was acting bizarrely blunt and rude, what was I supposed to think?”

“There’s only one way to test this,” Hinata says. “Atsumu-san, you should give Omi-san a hug!”

“Absolutely not.”

“Don’t even get near me, Miya.”

The two of them glare at each other, daring the other to even take a step closer. Hinata claps his hands together with a smile. “Well, at least we know they haven’t swapped personalities.”

“Maybe he’s just snapped finally,” Kiyoomi drawls, hunching in his chair. “God knows it must be exhausting to be that outgoing all the time. Good for him.”

“I don’t think he’s snapped,” Hinata says with a frown. “Bokuto-san isn’t like that. He’s a good guy through and through!”

“If you say so.”

“There must be some other explanation. Maybe Akaashi-san would know! Bokuto-san used to get these slumps back in the academy, maybe he’s having the adult equivalent of one now?” Kiyoomi remembers those legendary slumps. It was like a switch flipped in Bokuto’s head and he was gone, caught in the throws of an emo episode. He sure hopes this isn’t the adult equivalent.

Bokuto, who had remained silent until now, brightens at the sound of Akaashi’s name. “Keiji! I miss him so much, I hope I can talk to him soon. It’s hard being so far away from him for so long. I’m not made for long-distance relationships, and seeing him over video isn’t the same. I cried three times last night when he hung up to go to sleep. Sometimes I take two portions of dinner and pretend he’s eating it with me in my room. The cook told me if I kept doing it then he’d cut my meal portions in half, but I think he’s just joking.”

Everyone stares. “I told you,” Atsumu stage-whispers.

Latching his arms around Hinata, Bokuto leans down to rest his head on Hinata’s ginger hair. “If I can’t have Keiji, then you’re a good enough substitute, Hinata. You’re like a son to me. I think I’d like it if you called me dad. Keiji said we can’t legally adopt another adult as our child, but I think it’d be nice.”

Hinata, to his credit, doesn’t look surprised. He just laughs, and reaches up to ruffle Bokuto’s hair. “You can adopt me, Bokuto-san. Just wait until we’re back on Earth, okay?” His face crumples into one of confusion, and when he pulls his hand out of Bokuto’s hair there’s a pink object in his hands. It’s shaped like a six-pointed star, and is almost the size of his palm.

“What’s that?” Kiyoomi asks.

“I think it’s the missing stigma from the plant,” Hinata says cautiously. “It looks just like the one in the complete leaf.”

Kiyoomi picks up the undamaged one, safe in its plastic bag. Sure enough, when he shines a torch down into the inside of the leaf cocoon there is it - a pink, star-shaped stigma sitting atop a thick pistil. “It is.”

“Oh, shit,” Atsumu blanches. “That’s what it is? I found it in the corridor earlier and thought it’d be funny to put on Bokuto’s head.”

Bokuto huffs, arms tightening around Hinata. “You’re so much fun, Atsumu. Even when you call me a bird-brain. It’s nice to have you on the team. You’re a really good leader.

“It must secrete something,” Kiyoomi muses. He holds out another bag for Hinata to drop the broken stigma into it. “Maybe something that makes you incapable of not speaking the truth on your mind.”

“Maybe that’s it,” Bokuto says. “Hey, Sakusa-san. When I first met you I thought we could be friends, but if you don’t want to be friends that’s okay. Please stop making me carry all the heavy packs all the time, though.”

“No.”

“That’s okay too. I think it’s really sweet how you act all distant even though you really care about us. I wish you’d stop spraying disinfectant on me, however.”

“Again, no.”

“You are my least favourite team member,” Bokuto declares, and then slaps a hand over his mouth.

“Definitely a truth spore,” Hinata says. Then he frowns. “Were any of the other crew acting weird?” he asks Atsumu.

Atsumu shrugs. “I don’t know. It’s not like I pay any attention to those scrubs anyway.”

“You should be nicer to them,” Hinata says. “Osamu is the nicer twin, he would have gotten on with the crew better.” His eyes widen, and he slaps a hand over his mouth, mimicking Bokuto.

“Shit, is it getting to Shouyou-kun too?” Atsumu asks. “Also, that hurt.”

Hinata cautiously removes the hand from his mouth. “It must be airborne then. I didn’t touch it without gloves. We can assume the rest of the crew were affected too, but why wasn’t Atsumu-san?”

A snort makes its way out of Kiyoomi. “That’s because Miya’s always like this. When has he ever minced his words around someone else?”

“That’s true. He called me useless back in the academy when we first met, and it was really upsetting.

“Shit, did I? I don’t remember.” Atsumu glances over at Kiyoomi, a cheeky look in his eyes. “Hey, Omi-kun, what do ya think about me?”

“You’re an asshole and I dislike you,” Kiyoomi answers bluntly. “Getting assigned to your crew was the worst thing that happened to me this year.”

Atsumu just stares at him. “It’s really telling that I can’t tell whether yer under the effects of the truth plant or not.”

“Make a guess.”

“I think it’s sad that Omi-san doesn’t care about us,” Hinata says, eyes horrified as his mouth works without his permission. “I wish he’d let us get close instead of shutting us out. He’s so cool and-” A hand slapped over his mouth cuts the rest off.

That’s the tipping point for Kiyoomi, who gives up on his report and gets to his feet. “Come on. We need to get you all to Medbay and tell Meian-san to clean the air filtration system. With any luck this will be out of your systems soon and you’ll be back to normal. Not that I haven’t appreciated the refreshing honesty.”

“Yer such an asshole,” Atsumu says, as if he’s in any position to judge. “Genuinely how do Komori or any of your family put up with you?”

“Patience and practice,” Kiyoomi says flatly. “Now get walking.”

Bokuto seems deflated after his accidental confessions, and slopes along beside Kiyoomi on the way to Medbay. It doesn’t seem like the effects of the plant are waning, however, because every time Kiyoomi speaks to him he’s incapable of not blurting out exactly what’s on his mind.

“Your hair looks so cool, Sakusa-san.”

“Hey, Sakusa-san, I actually do know how to write up incident reports after missions but I lied and said I didn’t because I didn’t want to have to do it.”

“It was actually me that pulled the fire alarm that one time, but it was only because I wanted to see what would happen.”

Kiyoomi resolutely keeps his mouth shut the rest of the way there. Behind him, Atsumu is seemingly enjoying a game of 20 Questions with Hinata.

“Nicest crewmate?”

“Thomas!”

“Really? He’s got the personality of wet cardboard, but okay. Hm, least favourite crewmate?”

“Ohta in Engineering.”

“I don’t even know who that is. Favourite Jackals team member?”

“Omi-san!”

Kiyoomi’s step falters. He almost stumbles but quickly rights himself. Him? He was Hinata’s favourite team member? More so than his unofficial-father Bokuto and Atsumu, who he seemed to cling to whenever they had free time? Atsumu echoes his confusion. “Omi-kun? Why? He’s a blunt asshole who wants nothing to do with us. Also, I’m very upset and betrayed that you lied earlier.”

“He’s just really cool.” There’s an admiring tone to Hinata’s voice that makes Kiyoomi’s ears go red. “He knows so much about plants, and he always works so hard. It’s really inspirational! I love his passion for his work, and I just want to share it with him!”

“Oh?” Atsumu’s voice sounds wicked. “So it’s just admiration that makes you like him?”

Hinata sounds embarrassed, but he can’t stop the words from spilling out anyway. “No. He’s really handsome too, and tall! I like his honesty, and his moles.”

“If you had to pick one crewmate who you’d  _ get it on _ -”

“Stop bullying Hinata, Miya,” Kiyoomi says, turning around to level a glare at them. Atsumu’s grinning ear to ear, and Hinata looks like he’d rather be anywhere else than under Kiyoomi’s supervision. “We’re at the Medbay now. Tell the doctor what happened. I’ll check on you tomorrow. Don’t die.”

“Wait! Don’t you need to stay too, Omi-san? Weren’t you affected by it too?”

“As you can tell, I’m fine,” Kiyoomi grits out. He wants to get out of here as quick as possible, but before he can turn on his heel and leave he sees Atsumu’s face, eyes glinting with an evil gleam that Kiyoomi knows means trouble.

“Omi-kun, who do you think is the most attractive person on the MSBY?” Atsumu asks slowly.

“Hinata,” Kiyoomi blurts before he can think about it, and then goes bright red as everything in the room grinds to a halt. 

Fuck. He’d been trying so hard to keep his mouth shut and to breathe in as little as he could. 

Atsumu looks overjoyed, grin wide with amusement, and Hinata’s expression shell-shocked. Bokuto looks between them, confused.

“Wait, so when you said the pollen hadn’t affected you…”

Kiyoomi leaves before he can blurt out any more truths. Atsumu’s laughter follows him all the way down the corridor.

The next day, freed from the effects of whatever that weird plant had been, Kiyoomi writes up his report. He listens with half an ear as Hinata rants beside him about their stay in the Medbay. “I don’t remember much of yesterday,” he says, tilting his head to one side in consideration. “Maybe up until Atsumu-san and Bokuto-san came in. Everything after that is fuzzy. How weird! It must be a side-effect of the plant.”

“How weird indeed,” Kiyoomi says. He can still hear Hinata’s voice echoing in his ears, talking about him to Atsumu. He was saying… something. Kiyoomi just can’t seem to remember it. He remembers feeling embarrassed, and honoured, but he doesn’t know why.

He cracks his knuckles loudly. Ah well, it was not like it matters anyway. He has a report to write.

Whatever it was Hinata said, he’s sure it wasn’t important.

* * *

**Log 33 - Day 195 - Planet 17**

**Research Team Black Jackals, aboard the** **_ISS MSBY_ **

**Planet Specifications: Rocky and with no breathable atmosphere. Evidence of primordial atmosphere and extensive cratering. Volcanically active. No magnetic field. Subterranean water.**

_ “Oi, Omi-kun, get over here and into the photo!” [There’s the sound of fumbling and quiet swearing, like someone almost dropped something.] _

_ [A long suffering sigh.] “The camera isn’t supposed to be used for recreational purposes.” _

_ “C’mon, please?” _

_ [A new voice, whining and wheedling.] “Omi-san, please! Just the one!” _

_ “Only one.” [Shuffling noises.] “Take it quickly, we’ve got work to do.” _

_ “Okay, okay…” [The sound of a camera shutter, and then several loud exhales.] “Okay, done! It turned out good, you can see the volcanos and the rings in the background.” _

_ “Huh, look at all the smoke and dust from that one, it makes it look like Omi-san has a funny hairdo.” [There’s the sound of laughter; three distinctive voices.] _

_ “Be quiet.” _

Hinata’s smiling up at Kiyoomi as he speaks, pointing at the camera screen. He’s right, much as Kiyoomi would never admit it. The volcano in the distance behind them has perfectly aligned with him in the photo, plume of smoke rising up behind his head like an elaborate and tall pile of hair. Kiyoomi isn’t focused on that, however, but rather on how Hinata’s tanned skin looks in the golden red light of the sky, contrasted against the bright orange of his hair.

Even with the cooling technology of the suits, Kiyoomi feels warm. His cheeks are flushed. Perhaps his suit is malfunctioning slightly. He’ll have to check it later. Hopefully they won’t be on this planet long enough for him to incur any lasting damage if it is.

It’s planet number thirty three, and Atsumu had decided this time that (following discussion with the head offices back in Tokyo) it was high time they started visiting a few hotter planets. Kiyoomi had argued against it, of course, partly just to be contentious and annoy Atsumu, and partly because he was a botanist not a geologist. Unless he’d been taught the wrong science for four years, he was fairly sure planets that had an average temperature in the thousands of Kelvin weren’t ideal for organic life.

“Fuck, it’s hot.”

Kiyoomi doesn’t even need to look over to speak. “Don’t even think about turning up the cooling on your suit.”

“But it’s fucking hot!”

“It’s going to be even hotter when you overheat the cooling system and the whole thing breaks, Miya.”

Atsumu seems to be coping with the heat the worst so far, but Hinata isn’t looking too good either. They’d better be making this a quick mission. Kiyoomi can withstand the heat inside his suit, but the sweat that inevitably starts to pool all over his body is not something he can tolerate.

“It’s just getting samples, right?” Bokuto asks. “Rocks, magma…”

“HQ wants us to take a few direct temperature measurements,” Hinata pipes up. “The ash makes it hard to read from out of the atmosphere.”

KIyoomi nods approvingly. “There were a few other things they were curious about in particular, about the rate of outgassing and atmospheric constituents, but Hinata and I will handle that. I trust you two can handle the samples?”

“I’m taking the magma samples,” Bokuto and Atsumu both blurt out at the same time, and then direct glares onto each other.

“I’m older,” Bokuto says. “It should be me.”

“I’ve worked on the  _ MSBY  _ longer,” Atsumu argues back. 

There’s a gentle pat on Kiyoomi’s arm, barely felt through the thick fabric of the suit. “Where do we want to set up?” Hinata asks.

Kiyoomi looks down at his tablet, at the map of the planet surface sketched out there in reds and oranges and browns, veins of magma running across the screen like rivers. “Hm, about 40 degrees west,” he says, pointing it out. “There are a few vents on that side of the largest volcano, and the readings seem to suggest some geysers are down there. It’s a good spot for temperature and atmospheric readings.”

Hefting the equipment, Hinata gives Kiyoomi a mock salute and sets out ahead of him. The route down to their destination is steep, and the rocks are loose underfoot. Every now and then, there’s a loud rumbling boom and the ground shakes beneath their feet, threatening to send them tumbling down. Kiyoomi sticks as low to the ground as he can, keeping one gloved hand clutched onto an outcrop of rock at any moment. 

The heat only seems to increase the further down they go, approaching the vent that spurts out lava sluggishly, billowing clouds of cloying dust and ash filling the air. There’s a loud beeping in Kiyoomi’s ear and a flickering thermometer signal in the corner of his visor, warning of high temperatures that their suits can’t tolerate. They’d been warned before they left the  _ MSBY  _ that these suits weren’t built for the type of extreme temperatures that awaited them on this volcanic planet.

“You’ve got at maximum eight hours,” Inunaki - the head technician aboard the  _ MSBY _ , in charge of upkeep and repair of all their equipment - had cautioned them. “Really, I shouldn’t be letting you wear them down their at all, but I know you’re all stupid enough to go anyway even if I told you not to. So, eight hours. That’s the limit. Any more and you’ll overheat the cooling systems, and then it’s poof! Game over for you.”

Kiyoomi checks his watch. The display is faint and flickering, struggling with the temperature even inside the cool suit. It’s been two hours since touchdown. If they can get this equipment set up then there’s a chance to cool down on the shuttle before they leave.

The ground rumbles again. It’s getting hard to see, so much smoke and dust in the air that it’s a miracle Kiyoomi can still see Hinata ahead of him, there’s so much grey ash painted onto his visor. Hinata’s foot slips slightly on the next step down, and Kiyoomi’s heart freezes. Fortunately, he manages to catch himself at the last moment, equipment clattering to the ground as his fingers catch on a hooked rock.

“Watch your step,” Kiyoomi warns.

Over the intercom, he can hear the sound of Hinata’s shallow pants. “Don’t worry,” Hinata says with a cheery voice that only shakes slightly. “We’re almost there, I think. I can see a plateau ahead.”

“Stay cautious, we don’t know how stable it is.”

Hinata’s right, and after a few more minutes of gingerly scrambling down the cliffside, Kiyoomi’s feet hit flat ground. He takes a few cautious steps forward, assessing. From here, the plateau quickly falls away into nothingness, the mountainside giving way to cliff. To their right, the nearest volcano towers high and imposing, bleeding magma and wrapped in a murky blanket of ash. 

The vent is exactly where the scans had said it would be, a meandering river of lava trailing down the mountainside beside their little plateau. It writhes like it’s alive, moving in a way that’s akin to taking breath, crawling it’s way free from the confines of its prison, burning everything in its wake. It’s darker on the surface, more metallic grey than dark black like everything else around it, and between the cracks Kiyoomi can see the swirling oranges and reds beneath.

Like a snake, shedding its skin bit by bit.

“Woah,” Kiyoomi hears Hinata say, and he looks away from the magma river. Hinata has set down the equipment bag onto the plateau, stepping away from it to peer directly downwards over the cliff. Below, the lava has pooled into a lake, red and bubbling. There are flecks of darkness in it, currents of heat pulling swirling patterns across the wrinkled surface. It almost looks like spicy soup, Kiyoomi thinks wryly, but not one that he’d ever want to drink.

Every now and then, the surface of the magma pool erupts with a loud hiss, sending gas and lava raining down, bubbles bursting into flumes. “Looks perfect to take readings,” Hinata observes. 

Kiyoomi grunts. “Nowhere to use the drill, though.” He joins Hinata in unpacking the temperature metre, crouching down to set up the display. It blinks to life slowly, the blue glow out of place in the sea of red and black that surrounds them.

1,578 Kelvin, it reads. It was 1,103 Kelvin further up, where they left Bokuto and Atsumu. From a look at his own wrist display, Kiyoomi knows that the temperature in his suit is approximately 35 Celsius, and quickly rising.

It’s hot.

There are strands of hair sticking to his forehead, and beads of sweat drop regularly down his face. He’s had to blink them out of his eyes a few times now, wishing for all the world he could simply brush them off.

He makes quick work of setting up the other equipment, and takes the time to collect a few more ash samples. You can never be too sure, especially with how badly the heat is messing with their equipment. Every now and then the display glitches, and Kiyoomi has to hit it on the side to get it to work. 

Seriously, this is the best they could get? Years of scientific development, years of exploring unknown worlds with climates and conditions they could never think of in their wildest dreams, and their equipment can’t tolerate a little heat? There are hotter volcanoes than this back on Earth, Kiyoomi is sure of it.

He’ll take it up with Inunaki when they get back shipboard, although he imagines it’ll turn out exactly the same as when he last asked for something.

(Badly, is how it turned out.)

With the equipment set up, he stands up from a crouch with a groan. As he straightens up, he wobbles slightly, vision going fuzzy and dark at the edges. Fuck, that’s never a good sign.

“Hina-”

He calls out, and then pauses as he realises he can’t see Hinata anywhere on the plateau. Dread and panic spike in his heart. Could Hinata have slipped while he wasn’t paying attention? Did a stray rock hit him on the head? Did he pass out from heat exhaustion?

“Hinata?” he calls again. Waits a moment, but there’s no reply. The ash is thick around them, and no matter how much he peers and twists, he still can’t make out the familiar shot black shadow anywhere. “Can you hear me?”

“...omi…”

The voice is faint, and he has to focus closely to hear it.

“...ook...left...down…”

As soon as he hears the words, Kiyoomi rushes over to the left edge of the plateau. 

“Hinata? Where are you?”

“Down a bit more. No, more left! There!”

Kiyoomi feels his breath leave him in an exhale when he finally spots Hinata, body pressed against the mountainside and feet resting on a small outcrop. He waves at Kiyoomi as he spots him with his free hand, the other one busy stabilising a small drill.

“What are you doing? Kiyoomi asks. That outcrop doesn’t look big enough to comfortably fit a grown man, not even one as small as Hinata.

Hinata taps the drill. “Drilling! You mentioned that HQ wanted some samples that weren’t from the surface.” Even though he can’t see Hinata’s face from this distance, Kiyoomi can hear the smile in his voice, the pride seeping through that asks  _ hey, I did a good job right? _

Unease churns in Kiyoomi’s stomach. “Don’t be overly ambitious,” he snaps, and then catches himself. Next time he speaks it’s softer. “We don’t have the time to drill down far enough for it to be worthwhile, and with how volatile the planet's volcanism is, I wouldn’t be surprised if you tapped into a vent somehow. Don’t bother.”

There’s no reply from the other end of the intercom. Kiyoomi frowns. A thick cloud of ash is wafting past, and he can hardly make out Hinata’s shape down below. “Hinata? Can you hear me?”

“...I hear you,” Hinata says eventually. 

“Are you coming back up? We should rest in the shuttle before we come and collect the readings and leave.”

“I’m going to stay with the drill.”

Kiyoomi blinks. He must have misheard. There’s no way Hinata is this reckless. “What are you doing, Hinata?” he asks again. The ash is clearing now, and he can make out Hinata kneeling down, securely fixing the drill into the rocky outcrop. 

“We can get more data,” Hinata insists. Another vicious rumble shakes the ground, and Kiyoomi falls to one knee as he struggles to not lose his balance. They’re getting worse; the time between each huge rumble shortening, and the intensity of the quakes increasing each time. Kiyoomi’s no geophysicist, but even he knows that it’s going to keep getting worse until it reaches a climax, and that none of them are going to be on the surface of this planet when it does.

His tablet lies only a few metres away on the ground, hazy through the heat. Kiyoomi scrambles his way towards it, shooting cautious looks back over at where Hinata is engrossed in his work.

Even made of reinforced materials, the tablet is starting to suffer the effects of the blistering temperatures, black lines and splotches marring the screen as Kiyoomi jams his fingers onto the display. The ends of his fingers feel burnt and raw, blisters starting to form under the extended heat.

The seismograph they set up atop the plateau they landed on should have been logging all the quakes so far, if he can just access the data and see…

Graphs flicker onto the screen, sinusoidal waves and density maps of the surface in bright blues and oranges. It’s getting hard to see now, Kiyoomi realises as the lines blur in front of his dry eyes. No matter how much he blinks, it doesn’t become clearer.

Eventually he manages to focus his eyes long enough to understand what’s laid out in front of him.

They need to leave. Now.

Forget about waiting for a few hours for the readings to be collected. Forget staying in the shuttle then coming back. Forget even disassembling the equipment and taking it back with them; most of it is probably too ruined to use again anyway.

They need to  _ leave, _ because Kiyoomi’s no geophysicist, but he can tell that the data in front of him is telling him there’s less than an hour until the big quakes and eruptions start to hit. Not just here, but all across the planet’s surface. It’s going to be one giant volcano, and the big volcano right next to them is the main vent.

The temperature in his suit is getting ridiculous now, Kiyoomi is sure he’s sweated out all of his fluids already. At the seams of his suit, he can start to feel the beginnings of breakage. Adriah, one of the team members who worked alongside Inunaki on their equipment and suits, had assured him that the chances of the suit giving were low.

Less than one percent, he’d assured when Kiyoomi inquired after its durability. You would need extremely severe circumstances to stress the material to the point of breakage.

It’s stressed, alright.

Kiyoomi clenches his fists tightly, teeth gritted.

Fuck, fuck.

All for a couple of damn rocks, as well.

The tablet finally gives up its last life, flickering once before fading to black. Kiyoomi wastes no time chucking it aside, scrambling back towards the edge of the clifftop where Hinata was last. Another quake comes just as he reaches the precipice, and he just barely manages to catch himself from tumbling over the edge. Down below, the magma boils and froths, thick metallic skin wrinkling and shifting under the force.

“Hinata!” Kiyoomi calls, pressing the suit next to his ear, trying to listen to any sound of life from Hinata on the other end. The ash is like a curtain now, cutting off any vision more than a few metres ahead. “Hinata, can you hear me?”

The receiver crackles. “...almost… done…”

“There’s no time,” Kiyoomi says, eyes scanning the cloud for any sign of movement. “It’s all going to blow soon, we need to leave.”

“...one….inute…”

“No, now,” Kiyoomi snaps, voice harsh. “This is no time to be reckless and ambitious, Hinata. You’re putting all of our lives in danger. We need to  _ go _ .  _ Now _ .”

The end of his sentence is cut off by a deafening boom that sounds far too close for comfort, followed by a flurry of rocks and stones raining down on them from above. Kiyoomi swears, and curls himself up into a protective ball, wincing as rocks bounce off his back. One sharp rock shaped like an arrowhead embeds itself into the rock beside his head, just centimetres from his ear. “Fuck.”

The flurry stops after a minute, and Kiyoomi gingerly lifts his head to see that they’ve got bigger problems now. Whatever it was just then - a new vent opening up, a small explosion of gas, whatever - released enough hot gas to drive away the ash cloud lingering above them, and now Kiyoomi has a clear view of Hinata, stuck on his small outcrop of rock as the path he took to get there crumbles away.

“Omi-san!” Hinata calls, and he sounds terrified. “The shelf…” Kiyoomi sees him take a step forward, and then fling himself backwards as a rock the size of his head shatters on the ground where he had just been standing. “Omi-san!” he repeats again, panic evident.

“Stay calm,” Kiyoomi instructs him, desperately looking for a way to reach him.

“I’m trying,” Hinata responds, voice high and squeaky.

It’s hard to ignore the way his heart is beating twice as fast as normal, or to ignore the way the heat is making him feel dizzy; hard to ignore the blistering pain radiating from his fingers and toes, the adrenaline racing through his veins telling him to  _ go, run, get as far away as you can, get to safety _ , but he puts it all aside.

Hinata.

_ Hinata _ .

That’s all he can focus on now, getting his teammate back to safety as quick as he can.

Motoya had laughed, years ago, when Kiyoomi told him that he was going to take extra courses in emergency response and survival tactics. “When are you going to need that?” he’d said. “There are experts for that, and it’s not like you don’t know all of this stuff already.”

He’d been right, in a sense. The classes had been a complete waste of time, content-wise. Kiyoomi’d even had to correct the teacher on the correct actions to take during CPR at one point, which hadn’t gone down well. He’d grumbled bitterly about it for months afterwards, how it had been a waste of his time.

But, no matter how useless it may seem at the time, preparedness pays off.

“Jump over to the remaining bit of the shelf,” Kiyoomi instructs. “Straight ahead of you, to the left.”

“You want me to jump onto that?” Hinata asks. It’s only about a foot length wide.

“I know you can do it,” Kiyoomi says confidently. “I saw you during the Interhigh back in the Academy, I know the type of bold plays you made with Kageyama. This is nothing.”

“That was different,” Hinata says.

“What, you don’t trust me?

“No, I trust you.” Hinata’s voice is resolute. If Kiyoomi wasn’t already on the verge of passing out, he might notice the fluttering of butterflies in his stomach that accompanied those words. “Okay, I’m going for it.”

He takes a step back, and then another, until his heel is almost slipping off the ledge, and then he runs and jumps. 

Kiyoomi knows from experience that the suits aren’t easy to run in, thick and heavy as they are, yet Hinata moves like it’s nothing. He soars through the air, weightless, almost seeming to hang for a second above the gaping chasm before he lands solidly onto the thin strip of ledge. His hands scrabble for purchase on the wall ahead of him, visor scraping roughly against rock.

“Did it,” he breathes out, and even though Kiyoomi had seen him land safely, something still releases in his chest at those words. But there’s no time for sentiment now. That can wait.

“Okay, now look twenty degrees to your left…”

Carefully - slowly - Kiyoomi guides Hinata closer and closer towards him. Instructing and directing him, giving measured advice, and he can physically hear Hinata’s panic and fear subsiding bit by bit. There are a few close calls, when a rock breaks under Hinata’s weight and he’s left to hang one-handed from a rock until he finds a foothold again, or when another rough quake threatens to send the whole cliff collapsing down into dust, but eventually he makes it through the worst of it.

“Grab on,” Kiyoomi says, reaching a hand down. Hinata’s hand grabs onto his wrist, and with a lot of straining and scrambling he manages to crawl up onto the plateau next to Kiyoomi. Both of them collapse onto the floor, taking in desperate gasps for breath.

There’s more warning lights blinking in the corner of Kiyoomi’s visor now. Oxygen, overheating, stress to the suit. With the increase in volcanic activity and quakes, the thick ash cloud has returned to coat everything, turning everything outside of Kiyoomi and Hinata’s tiny bubble to swirling darkness. 

“We need to get back to the shuttle,” Kiyoomi says, forcing himself to get up. He feels woozy, and tired, and there’s a headache no other forming behind his eyes, but there’s nothing to do but move. “Bokuto-san and Miya should be aware of the danger we’re in already and prepped the shuttle. We just need to…” Words fail him as he wobbles slightly on his feet, only Hinata’s quick hands saving him from falling over. “...Get back…”

His feet feel like lead all of a sudden, his body not cooperating with what he wants it to do.

What’s going on?

He needs to...needs to get back to the shuttle…

There’s a heaviness behind his eyelids that tempts him, beckons him into it’s warm embrace, but he can’t. Not yet. He has things he needs to do.

“Don’t worry, Omi-san,” Hinata says with false cheer, Kiyoomi’s arm slung over his shoulder as he half-pulls, half-drags Kiyoomi up the steep cliffside they came down. “I’ll help you get back to the ship! Don’t mind, don’t mind!” He hums the last part in English, trying to keep the mood positive even as sweat pours down his face, and the strain is evident in his face.

Kiyoomi forces his body to move, putting one step in front of another, again and again and again.

Left, then right. Left, then right. Left, then right. If he really tunes his mind out, he can almost imagine he’s back at the academy again, training after-hours all by himself in the gym.

Left, then right. Left, then right.

He vaguely hears Hinata chattering away as they move, talking about anything and everything to keep their focus. His voice sounds muffled, like he’s speaking to Kiyoomi through a wall, or maybe that he’s speaking while there’s food in his mouth. 

Kiyoomi doesn’t like it when people speak with food in their mouths. It’s disgusting. He hopes Hinata isn’t someone to speak with food in his mouth.

It feels sort of like a dream, but a bad one. Well, it certainly can’t be a good dream if Miya Atsumu is in it, which Kiyoomi thinks he is. He’s sure he hears the sound of Atsumu’s voice, angry and worried and scared all wrapped up in one. There’s someone else there too, maybe, but his memories of it are very hazy.

Everything hurts, so perhaps it isn’t a dream at all.

* * *

They tell him, when Kiyoomi first emerges from his haze, that he and Hinata had walked the two kilometres uphill from the magma pit back to the shuttle, with malfunctioning suits and extreme heat exhaustion and dehydration.

“You were so lucky,” Bokuto informs him, sitting in the chair at Kiyoomi’s desk. He’s spinning round in it, and it makes Kiyoomi dizzy just looking at him. “Doc said that if you hadn’t got back and cooled down when you did, your organs would have started to swell as a result of heatstroke. Though, I guess the suits would have broken first, in which case you would have just burnt to a crisp.”

“Thank you, Bokuto-san,” Kiyoomi says dryly. “Why are you in my room?”

“We’re just checking up on ya.” Atsumu strolls out of the bathroom, wiping his hands on Kiyoom’s clean hand towel. “Gave us a fright emerging out of the ash like that, ya did.”

“I don’t remember much of it,” Kiyoomi admits. His head still feels fuzzy, not all there, otherwise he would have been sniping at Atsumu with his usual fervour. “Hinata helped carry me back.” His face sours. “Where is Hinata?”

Atsumu exchanges a nervous look with Bokuto. “Now, now, Omi-kun…” he says.

Kiyoomi frowns. “What’s with that look, Miya?”

“Hinata’s been resting a lot the past day or so,” Bokuto chimes in. “He stayed awake the whole time we flew back to the  _ MSBY _ , and he was really worried even once we got back onboard. Didn’t leave your side the whole time the doctor was checking you over.”

“Touching as that is,” Kiyoomi says in a tone of voice that conveys he doesn’t find it all that touching, “I just asked where he is.”

“Here and there,” Atsumu says vaguely, waving a hand in the air. “But like, he was  _ really _ torn up about ya, Omi Omi. Really.”

“I’m grateful for his concern, but what I really need is to talk to him.”

“About what?” Bokuto asks.

“Things,” Kiyoomi says firmly. “Where is he?”

Atsumu and Bokuto exchange another look.

* * *

Kiyoomi finds Hinata exactly where he expected to find him. As in, he finds him in the complete  _ opposite  _ location to where Atsumu and Bokuto told him he could find Hinata.

He’s been relieved of duties for the next few days while he recovers, likewise Kiyoomi has, and according to the few crewmembers Kiyoomi had cornered and interrogated (all the while maintaining a safe distance of 2m+ between them), Hinata has been lurking like a resentful spirit around the back-routes of the ship.

_ Trust Bokuto and Miya to lie, _ Kiyoomi thinks scornfully as he strides down the corridor. Trying to cover Hinata’s back, like it’ll do any good.

“Take it easy on him?” Atsumu had asked Kiyoomi before he left, hand reaching out to grasp Kiyoomi’s elbow. Kiyoomi had shaken him off roughly, casting a dirty look at where Atsumu had touched him.

“When have you known me to not take it easy on someone?” he’d retorted scathingly.

The thing is this: Kiyoomi isn’t mad, per se.

Well, he is.

What Hinata did was reckless, and stupid, and Kiyoomi is furious at him for the danger he had not only placed himself in, but Kiyoomi and the others by extension. He’d been overconfident, insisting he could do something despite clear instructions not to, and risked all of their lives as a result. So yes, Kiyoomi is mad.

He’s upset, and betrayed, because when he’d first met Hinata, the other man had insisted he was better now, that he was more careful now, and like a fool Kiyoomi had believed him.

But what really hurts is that despite the betrayal, Kiyoomi is mostly just  _ worried _ . In the moment, he hadn’t been angry at Hinata ignoring him, or frustrated, he’d been filled with an uncomprehending concern and fear on Hinata’s behalf. When the shelf had crumbled and Hinata was left stranded on his small ledge, Kiyoomi had felt the bottom drop out of his stomach. With every leap from boulder to shelf to cliff, Kiyoomi’s heart had leapt in his throat.

Now, with the danger past and both of them safe, Kiyoomi wants to be angry at how Hinata behaved, but all he feels is relief.  _ We’re both okay,  _ his heart tells him,  _ we’re both safe, and that’s all that matters. _

What matters is not endangering the lives of your coworkers because you want to go above and beyond, but Kiyoomi’s heart isn’t going to listen to that.

He’s been trying for the past three hours to muster up the anger he knows is there, but it all fades away when the door to the viewing gallery slides open with a hiss and he sets eyes on Hinata. 

Hinata turns around when the door opens, eyes wide.

“S-Sakusa-san.” Not  _ Omi-san _ , like he normally says. He sounds nervous, shrinking back into himself slightly as Kiyoomi approaches. His hair is a mess, ruffled and slicked with sweat, and he’s dressed in work-out clothes. Kiyoomi wrinkles his nose at the sight of the sweat patches on his armpits, and Hinata’s bare feet, stripped from his trainers and socks that lie discarded next to him. This room doesn’t get cleaned as regularly as everywhere else, a fine layer of dust coating every surface like snow. “You’re up.”

“Yes,” Kiyoomi replies, drawing to a stop a few metres away from Hinata. “I wanted to talk to you.”

“I thought you might,” Hinata says.

Kiyoomi lifts an eyebrow. “Do you already know why, then?”

“Yes.”

“What is it then, hm?”

Hinata shifts uncomfortably, wriggling under the weight of Kiyoomi’s cold gaze. “I...I…” He looks up at Kiyoomi, eyes big and wide and sad, and Kiyoomi’s never quite understood the idea of puppy eyes before, but now he gets it. “Omi-san, I’m…”

“You were reckless, and irresponsible,” Kiyoomi interrupts bluntly, turning away so Hinata can’t see how his resolve wavers. “You put all of our lives at risk because you didn’t listen! It was so dangerous. You could have…” His voice falters. “You could have died. We all could have!”

“I’m sorry, Omi-san!” Hinata replies sincerely, springing to his feet. “Truly. I’m so sorry. I should have known better.”

“You promised me that you did know better,” Kiyoomi says, and some emotion must slip into his voice because Hinata’s eyes widen imperceptibly behind Kiyoomi’s back. “You  _ said _ that you were better now, that you were more careful, and you lied.”

“I didn’t lie, really! I know it seems that way, but I’m more responsible now! I, uh, I realise that doesn’t help my argument right now, given my actions…”

Kiyoomi rolls his eyes.  _ You think? _ He stares resolutely out the window, ignoring his own cold-faced reflection, and Hinata’s own that lurks behind it.

Hinata’s voice is quiet when he speaks again, almost blending in with the gentle rumble of engines. “I broke your trust, and I know that there’s nothing I can do now but apologise and do better. So, I will.” There’s a brief silence that has Kiyoomi twisting slightly to look over his shoulder and see. Hinata’s bent himself into a deep bow, eyes practically fixed on the floor, and Kiyoomi almost has to cover his ears when Hinata speaks, more a yell than anything else: “Omi-san, I’m deeply sorry for my actions. I was reckless, and careless, and I put everyone else’s lives in danger along with mine. I understand if you want me off the research team after my behaviour, but I want you to know that I enjoyed working with you, and you’re someone I admire a lot.”

If this was one of those Western sitcom dramas that Komori loved to watch when they were teenagers, Kiyoomi knows there would definitely be a record scratch sound effect playing right now. As it is, all he can do is stare down at the top of Hinata’s head, at the messy waves of bright orange hair.

_ Someone you admire a lot? _

_ Me? _

The longer the silence drags on, the more uncomfortable Kiyoomi feels. It’s like their first meeting all over again - Hinata overenthusiatic, Kiyoomi looking for any avenue of escape - except this time Kiyoomi can’t just run away, because he has all these stupid things called  _ feelings _ fluttering around inside of him like butterflies, bumping into all his vital organs and sending little shockwaves throughout his whole body.

“Stop bowing already,” he says eventually, voice gruff and face flushed. “It’s annoying.”

Hinata bounces upright so fast that the top of his head almost connects with Kiyoomi’s chin, nervous grin fixed onto his face. “Are you going to kick me out of the research team?” he asks, and if it were anyone else (read: Atsumu), Kiyoomi would probably just tell them to fuck off and not give a straight answer, but there’s just  _ something  _ about Hinata that makes him soften, hard edges melting into rounded corners.

“No, I’m not kicking you off the research team,” Kiyoomi says, and Hinata deflates with a sigh. “Even if I wanted to, I’m fairly sure I don’t have the authority to. Besides, you’re… you’re a good team member, Hinata. Working with you isn’t horrible, I suppose.”

Out of the window beside them, the volcanic planet they had almost lost their lives on looms, marbled beige and clay red, illuminated by the sun-like star it orbits closely. The star is mostly hidden behind the planet, bright glaring light glancing off the top of the atmosphere like sunlight reflected in a car mirror, a bright spot in the midst of darkness.

Illuminated by starlight, Kiyoomi can see how Hinata’s fear and anxiousness fades away out of him, replaced with a cheeky smile that stretches his lips. “You like working with me, Omi-san?”

Huffing, Kiyoomi tosses his head, choosing to look at the swirling clouds of ash and dust that coat the entire surface of _Mat Kazan_ , constantly shifting and moving and evolving as the planet toils beneath the surface. “I didn’t say that.”

“But did you mean it?” Kiyoomi still does not reply, only letting out a sharp intake of breath when nimble fingers gently brush across his own, smaller hands wrapping around his larger ones. “ _ I _ like working with you, Omi-san.”

Kiyoomi doesn’t dare to move his head and see what expression Hinata is wearing, doesn’t dare to move and break this delicate moment between them. Hinata’s hands are sweaty, warmer than his own as they engulf his. Kiyoomi’s mysophobia is screaming at him to pull his hand away, but he finds that he can’t do it. The whole universe narrows down to this single point. 

Hinata’s hand in his, nothing but the sounds of their own breathing filling the air around them, orange hair dyed dark amber with the fading starlight.

“I spent a lot of years living in the shadow of Kageyama,” Hinata says, fingers flexing slightly in their grip on Kiyoomi’s hand. “Well, not in his shadow. But my worth and success were dictated by his ability. I wanted to become someone who could be strong on my own, who wasn’t only valuable as part of a set, and I was too eager to prove it to you. I was too focused on proving that I could do things myself, I wasn’t thinking about everyone else.” There’s a small laugh. “I don’t think I’ve really spoken to other people about this before.”

“You don’t have to tell me about it if you don’t want to,” Kiyoomi says, finally braving to look down at Hinata. He can see himself reflected in Hinata’s wide eyes, a flicker of orange and tan in the endless darkness.

Hinata shakes his head emphatically, and his grip on Kiyoomi’s hands tightens. “No, I want to. Not because I think you would understand, but because I want you to know.”

“Oh.”

“I don’t know why I thought that would be a good way to prove my worth to you,” Hinata says, letting out a small laugh. “As if you’d ever appreciate my efforts if I was doing something reckless like that. But all I could think about was that you’d be so glad I got that data for you, even if it meant putting myself in danger.”

“No amount of data is worth the risk to human life,” Kiyoomi points out to him, but his tone is softer than it would normally be. “You should know that.”

“I do, I promise!” He squeezes Kiyoomi’s hand tightly, as if he can convey his sincerity through touch. “I was an idiot, and as a result of my actions I’ve achieved the exact opposite of what I wanted. Now you think I’m reckless, and stupid, and you’re really mad at me. It really isn’t how I wanted you to acknowledge me.”

“I’m not mad.” The words find their way out of Kiyoomi’s mouth without his permission. “The rest of it, yes. I do think you’re reckless and an idiot, but we can work on that. You’re still far more tolerable than the other two. But I’m not mad.” He takes a deep breath. “Not  _ that  _ mad, anyway. You know what you did wrong, and telling you off for it isn’t going to change anything. That said, you’re still going to have to write up the incident report and accept the blame and consequences. Just because you have self-awareness doesn’t mean you’re not in trouble.”

“You’re really not mad?” Hinata asks.

“I’m relieved,” Kiyoomi admits, “that you’re okay.” There’s a feeling that’s almost like embarrassment welling up inside him at the words, but he’s not exactly sure why.

Hinata’s mouth opens and closes like a fish, surprise painted in his eyes. There’s a fierce blush creeping its way onto his cheeks. “You were worried about me?”

“Concerned,” Kiyoomi corrects. His own cheeks are starting to feel hot now; there must be an issue with the heating system in this part of the ship. “Your life was in danger.”

“I mean, yeah,” Hinata says. He’s doing a little wiggle on the spot where he stands, feet tap-dancing side to side. It’s a miracle he keeps his hold on Kiyoomi’s hands, tightly gripping until it’s almost painful. “But I just...you were concerned about me.”

“I don’t get what the big deal is. You’re my teammate, of course I’d be concerned for your safety.”

“But would you feel the same if it was Atsumu-san or Bokuto-san in my position?” Hinata asks.

Kiyoomi frowns. “That’s different. I’d still be concerned but...”

“They’re our teammates too.”

“It’s different.”

“Really?” The smile on Hinata’s face is so bright it’s almost blinding, and with his weird shuffling dance he’s crept closer and closer to Kiyoomi until there’s only a few centimetres between their bodies. Kiyoomi can almost feel the heat radiating off him, warming him to the bones.

Kiyoomi wants to look away, to shield his eyes, but he can’t. “Why are you so happy about this?” he asks. “Is it really so surprising that I would actually care for the lives of my teammates?”

With a vigorous headshake, Hinata says: “It’s not that! It’s just that I care a lot about Omi-san too.”

Kiyoomi raises an eyebrow. “Do you not care about Miya and Bokuto-san, then?”

“It’s different.” Hinata echoes Kiyoomi’s words back to him. There’s a knowing glint in his eyes, a curl to his lips that suggests he knows something Kiyoomi doesn’t, but he has no idea what little piece of information about himself he’s given out with the few words he’s spoken.

It shouldn’t come as a surprise to Hinata that Kiyoomi’s concern for him extends beyond his for Bokuto and Atsumu, but perhaps hearing him admit it is different. 

“I like knowing that Omi-san cares about me, the same way I care about him,” Hinata says, with the brightest smile Kiyoomi has ever seen.

Perhaps, if Kiyoomi were playing the starring role in a romantic movie, this is where the other shoe would drop. He would have that sudden realisation, that  _ oh _ moment, where everything suddenly clicks into place and he realises what these unknown feelings are.

(Hint: they’re not just a confusing mixture of irritation and hormones.)

Instead, Kiyoomi just nods. “Yes, I care for you as a teammate.”

Hinata’s smile doesn’t dim. “And a friend!”

Kiyoomi sighs.

“Go on, say it.”

“...No.”

“Omi-san, say it!”

“Don’t tug on my arm like that, it hurts. Plus, your hands are all sweaty and it’s disgusting.”

“Say it!”

“Fine, I care for you as a friend too. What are you making that face for?”

“It’s nothing,” Hinata says, finally dropping Kiyoomi’s hands. It feels cold all of a sudden, like there’s something missing without Hinata’s warmth. Maybe he’s coming down with a cold, fluctuating between extremes like this. “I’m just happy.”

Kiyoomi side-eyes him. He’s no good at emotions, at telling the difference between what people  _ say _ and what people  _ mean _ . That’s what he likes about Hinata; that he smiles when he’s happy, and he cries when he’s sad. Of course, there’s a myriad of emotions written between the two extremes, but each one is painted so clearly on Hinata’s face for the whole world to see.

There’s a flush on his cheeks, and a slight wetness in his eyes. A bright grin curving onto his lips, and an excitement that thrums through his whole body and has him jittering everywhere like a wind-up toy set loose. 

Hinata’s happy, and that shouldn’t make Kiyoomi feel as happy as he does.

There’s heat rising in his cheeks again, and Kiyoomi makes a note to visit the medbay later to get checked over for flu. He doesn’t want to risk bringing a foreign contagion back with him from an exploration. He coughs lightly, turning his back on Hinata and striding towards the door. “Well, you’re not going to be happy once you hear about your punishment for your actions on  _ Mat Kazan _ .”

Hinata gasps behind him. “Omi-san, no, please!”

“Rules are rules.”

“Omi-san!”

There’s a smile tugging at the corner of Kiyoomi’s lips, barely noticeable.

Hinata isn’t the only one feeling happy.

* * *

The words on the tablet in front of Kiyoomi start to blur, and he rubs at his eyes to clear them. A yawn threatens to break out of his chest, and he just barely keeps it suppressed. Across the table from him, Bokuto’s hair droops as he taps away at his tablet with tired fingers.

Most days that they spend on the  _ MSBY _ , when they aren’t jetting off to explore planets, are spent assisting around the ship. During the day, they splinter off to their respective departments, offering what help they can. In the evenings, they all wind down in their own ways. Atsumu and Bokuto like to lift weights, Kiyoomi likes to read, Hinata likes to do yoga. Recently, however, Kiyoomi’s started to join Hinata on his evening runs around the unused back corridors of the ship. Neither of them talk, but it’s enjoyable nonetheless.

All of those plans, however, go straight out of the window when auditing time comes.

Atsumu’s head slumps down onto the table. “What were the atmospheric constituents of Dokusora again? I forgot to write them down.”

“Which planet number?”

“Fuck, uhh, twenty eight.”

Kiyoomi swipes through some pages of his documents, searching for the results. “92% carbon monoxide, 3% boron trichloride, 2% nitrogen, and the rest is trace gases.”

“Thanks, Omi Omi.”

The room goes silent as they all focus on their own tasks again. Kiyoomi barely contains a yawn of his own. Auditing is one of his least favourite tasks, even though he recognises it’s an important one. 

It’s something they have to do every six months; all four of them gather together in their meeting room to brush up on any final mission reports, and confirm that the same information holds across all of them. They have to scrutinise every single word they’ve written of their reports, to review every piece of audio and recorded data available to them from each mission, even down to the most miniscule of details. Then they conduct one final analysis and evaluation of the work, before all of it gets handed over to the officials for the  _ real  _ auditing.

So, once every six months, they get together and ensure that the information they’ve collated and presented is valid and detailed, and presents an image of their team as professional and organised. If that involves tweaking a few details, who’s to know?

They’re coming up on a year on the  _ MSBY  _ soon, which means the reports have to be finalised before that. Kiyoomi is someone who enjoys being thorough, and enjoys the methodical nature of paperwork, but even he is loathe to say he enjoys reviewing four different accounts of the same expedition - alongside the official reported results of the analysis conducted on the samples taken - for fifty different planets. Not to mention they have to include any incident or injury reports too, which don’t paint the best picture of their crew sometimes.

Kiyoomi stares down at the incident report declaring that Atsumu had needed stitches in his hand after he had attempted to pick up what he thought was a rock (spoiler: it was some sort of inverted porcupine, that had promptly released its spikes everywhere and skewered Atsumu). He sighs. It’s going to be a long week, and they’re only just halfway through now. 

Something falls onto his shoulder suddenly, and he jumps. Orange hair tickles at his nose as Kiyoomi shifts to look down. Hinata’s head rests on his shoulder, gentle snores coming from the younger man’s open mouth. It’s late in the evening now, and most of them have dressed down out of uniform. Hinata’s swaddled in a bright yellow jumper that looks more like a blanket than clothing, hands swallowed up by voluminous sleeves. What Kiyoomi can see of his hands are his fingers that clutch at the fabric of Kiyoomi’s shirt, trapping his arm.

Kiyoomi hazards a look around. Bokuto and Atsumu are both still engrossed in their reports. Hinata shuffles closer to him, face tilting so Kiyoomi can feel the gentle puff of breath on his neck. It should be disgusting, he should shove Hinata off, and wake him up so he can complete his auditing.

Instead, he lifts up a hand and gently brushes some of the wild ginger curls from Hinata’s forehead, tucking them back behind an ear. His hair is soft to the touch, and Kiyoomi briefly entertains the idea of properly running his hand through it. His fingers twitch.

Hinata lets out a little mutter, smacking his lips together. Something in Kiyoomi’s chest clenches. He’s been getting lots of these weird little palpitations recently, mostly when he’s around Hinata. It’s not good, especially when he needs to focus on work. He blames it on  _ Mat Kazan _ , because ever since that mission he’s been feeling like this. Ever since he and Hinata had had that talk, the one that had left him with a warmth in his chest and a fluttering in his stomach.

It’s an effort to drag his hands away from Hinata’s soft hair. He returns to reading the report on his tablet. It’s one of Bokuto’s, which means it’s detailed and full of useful information that the rest of them completely overlooked, but is at least three times longer than it needs to be.

Hinata sleeps on. Even when Kiyoomi feels the telltale wet dribble of drool on his shoulder, he represses his shudder of disgust and doesn’t shove Hinata off.

He doesn’t know why he does it. Maybe because Hinata looks so peaceful and cute as he sleeps. Maybe because waking Hinata up would attract the attention of Bokuto and Atsumu, who remain oblivious to Hinata doing his best to crawl into Kiyoomi’s lap as he sleeps. Maybe because the palpitations in his chest have just been getting worse the longer he looks at Hinata.

He should really see a doctor about those palpitations.

* * *

They celebrate one year into their mission in a restrained fashion. And by restrained, Kiyoomi means that the entire crew gets absolutely piss drunk at 3pm on a Saturday, gorging themselves on alcohol and roasted green peas and squid tempura and all the other drinking snacks that they just happened to have in their supplies.

(Kiyoomi had rolled his eyes so hard they almost went into the back of his head when Meian had clapped him on the shoulder and insisted that, since there had been a mix up at the last supply drop, there was nothing left for them to do but drink the bottles of Asahi and Kirin they were saddled with.)

It also means that Kiyoomi is currently doing his best to fade into the darkness in the far corners of the cafeteria, glowering at any drunken crewmate that happens to wander too close to him and fervently wishing he can retreat back to his room. But no, apparently being a member of the crew and a ‘valued teammate’ means that attendance at these yearly celebrations is mandatory, for ‘crew-bonding’ or whatever other reason Bokuto made up.

Well, there’s not exactly a lot of crew-bonding going on right now, unless Kiyoomi counts the three couples he’s seen hook up and slink off to their quarters in the last hour.

Speaking of slinking off to quarters...Kiyoomi casts a look down at his watch and then a longing look at the door. It’s been over an hour now, surely he can leave. He takes a tentative step.

“Ah, Omi-san, I found you! I should have known you’d be over here.”

Of course, the universe is not so merciful.

Hinata bounds in front of Kiyoomi, smile wide. He doesn’t look too drunk, only a slight flush in his cheeks, and his eyes are still alert and bright. “I’m surprised you lasted this long.”

“Meian-san told me I couldn’t leave for at least two hours.”

Glancing around at the otherwise preoccupied crewmates, Hinata says: “Well, I don’t think they’d notice if we snuck off.”

“We?”

Hinata doesn’t reply, only grabbing onto the edge of Kiyoomi’s sleeve and pulling him along with him, around the edges of the gathered crowd towards the entrance. They slip into the lift, and Hinata lets out a laugh as the door slides shut behind them. “I feel like I’ve just done something illegal.”

“You have a very tame definition of ‘illegal’,” Kiyoomi replies. “Why did you leave? You looked like you were having fun.”

The lift is small, and it feels even smaller as Hinata raises his head to smile at Kiyoomi. “I have fun when I’m with you too, Omi-san.”

He’s been doing a lot of that recently. The compliments. The friendliness too, but that’s practically a given with Hinata.

Ever since that time, something has shifted slightly. It was bad enough when he was just having the weird palpitations, but now he’s started to notice Hinata’s behaviour too. Hinata’s words and actions seem more pointed now; Kiyoomi finds his gaze lingering on him longer, and when Kiyoomi meets his eyes he doesn’t look away.

He doesn’t know what it means, this sudden and increased attention from Hinata. He’s not entirely sure he isn’t making it up. Perhaps if Bokuto and Atsumu weren’t Idiot #1 and Idiot #2 respectively, he could ask them for some advice, but he knows they’d just tell him that Hinata likes him, and he likes Hinata, which is ridiculous.

Isn’t it?

* * *

Kiyoomi has never regretted taking a job quite as much as he does the next morning.

“I feel terrible,” Bokuto wails, clutching his head in his hands. “I feel like I’m going to be sick.”

“Don’t you dare,” Kiyoomi says, while Hinata gives Bokuto a consoling pat on his back, crouched down at his side.

“Why do we have to do a mission today?”

“Because we planned this two weeks ago,” Kiyoomi points out. “You knew we were going on a mission today when you decided to get drunk and stay up on a call with Akaashi-san all of last night after the party.”

“I don’t regret it,” Bokuto sniffs.

Hinata’s rubbing circles onto Bokuto’s back. “The nausea will pass soon, Bokuto-san,” he says. “I’m sure by the time we touch down on the planet surface you’ll feel better.”

“But I feel really bad now!”

Fearing imminent vomit, Kiyoomi retreats to the cockpit of the shuttle, lurking in the doorway as he watches Atsumu at the control panel, deftly steering them down through the storming clouds and winds to the planet surface.

They’ve chosen a mostly Earth-like planet this time, thankfully. Headquarters seemingly didn’t appreciate the several strongly-worded messages Kiyoomi sent them about needlessly endangering employees on their payroll, and the necessity of assigning qualified crew for dangerous missions, and had agreed not to save money by sending them on missions that were out of their comfort zone anymore. The fact that they’d destroyed and lost millions and billions of yen worth of equipment on the volcanoes of that planet probably didn’t help either.

(Inunaki and Thomas were over the moon about the increase in their budget allowance however, the Federation reluctantly forking out money to resupply their equipment and protective gear.)

Atsumu barely gives a hint that he’s noticed Kiyoomi’s presence, relaying commands with the navigation crew aboard the  _ MSBY  _ with ease. Kiyoomi waits until there’s a pause before speaking.

“Enjoy the celebrations last night?”

Almost imperceptibly, Atsumu’s hand pauses on the controls. “Hello, Omi-kun. Yes, I did enjoy myself. How did ya find it, clinging to the corners of the room like mold?”

“Riveting,” Kiyoomi replies. “There’s nothing I enjoy more than parties.”

“Of course.”

“Bokuto-san seems in bad shape. Too much alcohol, I think.”

“He’s always had a weak tolerance.”

“And yourself?”

“Hm?”

“What about your tolerance?

“I have excellent tolerance, thanks very much.”

“Oh, you do? That’s a surprise.” Atsumu lets out an annoyed grunting noise. “I can take that to mean you didn’t get inebriated last night?”

“Nope,” Atsumu insists. “Not at all.”

“Not even a little bit?”

“Nu-uh, Omi-kun!”

“So you’re not hungover today?”

“Definitely not.”

“Then why are you wearing sunglasses?”

Atsumu twists in his seat with a frustrated growl, and Kiyoomi is certain he’s giving him a glare behind the dark shades that cover his eyes. “That’s none of yer fucking business!”

“I thought you weren’t hung-over,” Kiyoomi says, enjoying this. “So if I raise my voice like this-” He can visibly see Atsumu wince as his voice gets louder.

“Yer such a bastard,” Atsumu gripes, hand rubbing at his temples. “I don’t know how they let ya onto a team with other people.”

“I don’t know how they let you pilot the shuttle while hung-over, so I guess we’re even on that front.” There’s a long pause as another direction comes in from the  _ MSBY _ , and Atsumu corrects their course in order to account for the turbulence, and then they remain in tense silence until Kiyoomi chucks a small box at Atsumu’s head.

“Ow, fuck. What was that for?”

“Painkillers,” Kiyoomi says simply, face darkening as he speaks. “Take them.”

Atsumu looks between the box and Kiyoomi’s face. “Painkillers…? Omi-Omi, ya do ca-”

“Take them now and shut up.”

“I knew ya cared really,” Atsumu says with a smirk, knocking back two of the tablets and relaxing into his chair. “Ya can sit down in the other chair if ya want,” he offers grudgingly.

“No thank you,” Kiyoomi says. “I’ll go and check on…” There’s the sound of vomiting out in the main shuttle. Kiyoomi sighs heavily.

“It hasn’t been touched since it was cleaned pre-mission,” Atsumu insists.

Kiyoomi fixes him with a stern look as he sprays and wipes the chair down nonetheless. He swears he can see Atsumu roll his eyes behind the shades. Faint voices of Hinata and Bokuto float through, although Kiyoomi does his best to tune out most of the more unsavoury noises.

“How long till touchdown?” he asks Atsumu, who’s doing his best to fade back into unconsciousness at the control panel.

“Huh? Oh, like an hour tops. Once we get below this cloud layer it’s all clear sailing then until the drop point.”

“Hm.”

The next hour is one of the most intolerable of Kiyoomi’s whole life. A whole hour, stuck together with  _ Miya Atsumu _ in a cockpit barely big enough to keep two metres apart in, and the sounds of Bokuto’s sad moaning and vomiting floating in from behind them. At some point, the smell also starts to infiltrate the cockpit and Kiyoomi snaps, spraying disinfectant spray everywhere. Atsumu, mid-way through a nap, wakes to a burning in his throat and the taste of disinfectant on his tongue. He does his best to wrestle the spray away from Kiyoomi, and then they spend the next twenty minutes sniping at each other.

But the good news is that they arrive in one piece, and Bokuto seems to have recovered after emptying his entire stomach into the shuttle toilets.

“This is a nice planet,” Hinata says, eyes surveying the landscape, and Kiyoomi’s inclined to agree. This is a colder climate planet, but still warm enough to stay partly snow-free throughout most of its 234 Earth-year years. They've landed in wetlands, surrounded by dense bush and trees, dirt and reeds giving way to muddy waters that feed into a huge lake a few hundred metres away.

They’d checked, and double-checked, and at Kiyoomi’s insistence triple and quadruple checked the atmosphere, and it’s breathable. It’s refreshing to be able to unclip their helmets and set them aside, but the stench of the marsh is less refreshing.

“That fucking reeks,” Atsumu says, ever eloquent. Kiyoomi wrinkles his nose underneath his facemask. He’s not wrong. _ I’m going to need to take at least fifteen showers after this. _

“It’s not so bad,” Hinata tries to insist, and then promptly starts coughing. “Really, it just takes a while to get used to it.”

“I’m going to smell like a swamp for the next three months,” Kiyoomi mutters. “Kill me now.”

Hinata waggles a vial under his nose. “Science first,” he reminds Kiyoomi with a smile. “Remember?”

“I remember,” Kiyoomi replies, averting his eyes as he tries not to blush. It was a stupid gimmick he and Hinata - well, mostly Hinata - had come up with on one of the last few missions. A check-in reminder of sorts, for when they got distracted. Science first, everything else after.

A check-in reminder that Kiyoomi was finding it harder and harder to stick to, given how often his mind wandered to Hinata beside him while they collected samples.

“They’re doing that thing again,” Atsumu stage-whispers to Bokuto. “They’re so smitten.”

Kiyoomi fixes him with a look. “Miya, Bokuto - how do you two feel about collecting samples from the marsh?” He pairs the sentence with a smile, all sharp-toothed and jarring and threatening. 

Atsumu picks up a pair of secateurs. “Oh, terribly sorry Omi-kun, but I’ve already started collecting snipping samples. What a terrible shame.”

“I’ll get you one of these days,” Kiyoomi threatens, and Atsumu sticks out his tongue in response. 

Hinata’s hand on his arm brings his attention back to the shorter man. “Omi-san, wanna get lake samples?” he asks. “Bokuto-san is good at getting dirt samples, so we could leave him doing that and explore a bit.” He pairs his suggestion with a bright smile, Kiyoomi’s heart skipping several beats in a way that would have any licensed medical professional concerned. 

“Sure,” he agrees, and Hinata’s grin widens. 

“Awesome. Let’s go this way then.” His hand slips down Kiyoomi’s arm, leaving a trail of goosebumps in its wake, to grasp his wrist tightly. Kiyoomi lets Hinata tug them forward, sticking close to his side as they wade through patches of swirling mud and knee-deep dank water. Over time, Hinata’s grip slips and slips downward until his hand is in Kiyoomi’s, fingers awkwardly slotting together through the thick gloves of their suits.

He can’t take his eyes off their hands, and almost trips face-first into a patch of reeds, only Hinata’s quick hand shooting out prevents it. “Look where you’re going,” Hinata reminds him cheerfully, and Kiyoomi nods along, unable to take his eyes off their joined hands.

God, meeting Hinata has really made him stupid. Four years of studying biology and ecology, becoming a highly qualified academic in his chosen field, and yet it all went flying out of the window whenever he set eyes on Hinata. 

_ Is this how Atsumu feels every second of every day? _

He finally manages to tear his eyes away when Hinata drops his hand at the edge of the lake, doing his best to appear unaffected even as he laments the lack of warmth. It’s easy to distract himself by squatting down to open the pack and start getting the equipment out.

Beside him, Hinata squints into the distance. “What’s that?”

“What’s what?” Kiyoomi says absentmindedly, plugging coloured wires into his handheld.

“People,” Hinata says, and then again with more confidence. “That’s definitely people! Omi-san, look, look!”

Kiyoomi gets to his feet with his groan and looks in the direction that Hinata is pointing. There are faint storm clouds brewing on the horizon, thick and grey, and below that thick dense brush, all twisting roots and thick leaves like a mangrove forest. If Kiyoomi squints he can see what Hinata is talking about: flashes of artificial, clean white and cerulean blue through the foliage. 

“It’s people!”

“It can’t be,” Kiyoomi responds, racking his brain for an answer. “Unless…”

A branch bends out of the way and a figure steps out, decked in white with blue accents, helmet removed. Their eyes meet Hinata’s and Kiyoomi can hear Hinata’s audible gasp.

“Dumbass Hinata!”

“Bakageyama! What are you doing here?”

Abandoning their lake investigation, Hinata runs over to where Kageyama is standing, hands on hips and looking at the both of them in shock. With a sigh, Kiyoomi puts his handheld down and follows after Hinata, carefully stepping over puddles of brackish water and mud that bubbles, releasing air bubbles of rancid air.

“What am I doing here?” Kageyama asks with a scoff. “We’re exploring. What are  _ you _ doing here?”

Hinata bristles. “I’m exploring too! I bet we got here first.”

“I definitely got here first,” Kageyama retorts, quick as a whip.

“Well, how long have you been here for then?”

“You tell me first!”

There’s a headache forming behind Kiyoomi’s eyes already. One of them is tolerable, but together those two are absolutely unbearable.

“Kageyama,” Kiyoomi interrupts, greeting the younger man. “Where’s the rest of your team?”

Kageyama pauses, and looks around in confusion. “They were...just here…”

_ So he lost them, then. _

Just as Kiyoomi’s about to ask what direction they came from, there’s the sound of rustling leaves and water sloshing, paired with familiar voices. 

“Oi, Kageyama!”

“Over here!” Kageyama calls back. 

Kiyoomi can pick out Atsumu’s voice from the group. “Where the fuck is  _ here _ ?” He must eventually work it out, however, because not even a minute later there’s a group in black and white sloshing their way through the marsh to them.

Bokuto’s eagerly talking away with a short white-haired figure at the front of the group, who swiftly abandons him to hurtle towards Hinata with a loud, piercing screech. “Hinata Shouyou!”

“Hoshiumi Kourai!”

“Fancy seeing you here!”

Atsumu sidles up to Kageyama. “Oh, Tobio-kun! Long time no see!”

There’s an indecipherable look on Kageyama’s face. “Atsumu-san.”

Kiyoomi feels a presence behind him and turns his head slightly to take in the sight of Ushijima, clad in his still-pristine white and blue suit, hands neatly folded behind his back.

“Wakatoshi-kun.”

“Sakusa. I hope you’ve been well.”

Kiyoomi only hums lightly. “I’ve been well.”

“I heard about what happened. It surprised me to hear your name involved.”

Kiyoomi starts slightly. He’s not surprised news has spread about their eventful mission, more so that Ushijima would bring it up. “Ah. Well, things happen.”

He can almost feel how Ushijima’s eyes slide across to him. “It’s very unlike you to say that.”

“It is?”

Ushijima’s eyes slide away from Kiyoomi, landing on Hinata where he’s enthusiastically conversing with Hoshiumi. “They’re very similar, the two of them,” is all he says, discarding the conversation topic.

“Both loud and impulsive?”

Ushijima huffs out a laugh, so small and quiet that it could barely be called one. “How are you finding working with your team? I was surprised to hear you weren’t assigned to the  _ Schweiden _ .”

“I have no say in my assignment, you know this,” Kiyoomi points. “Nonetheless, don’t you think it’s more fun to compete as rivals? Though I can’t say I wouldn’t appreciate someone I can hold a proper conversation with on my team. The three of them are…”

“A handful?”

“Two handfuls.” It’s refreshing to talk so candidly with an old friend like this, Kiyoomi hadn’t realised he’d missed intelligent conversation so much until now. He nods towards Kageyama. “What about yourself? Speaking of, where’s the fourth member of your team?”

“We experienced some technical difficulties on the way down, so Romero stayed back to contact the  _ Schweiden  _ about it.”

“Anything serious?”

Ushijima frowns. “Who knows?”

“If you need anything, we’ll be happy to help,” Kiyoomi offers, and Ushijima gives him a small nod in thanks. 

“How fortunate your team happened to be around.”

Hinata comes bounding up seconds later, Hoshiumi hanging off his arm like a limpet. “Hey, Omi-san! Hoshiumi-san and I are going to go take marsh samples, is that okay?”

There’s a small wave of disappointment rising up in Kiyoomi, knowing that Hinata would rather spend time with Hoshiumi than him. It tastes bitter in the back of his throat like bile, even as he nods at Hinata. The blinding smile he gets in response seems a little too bright, like sunlight reflecting off a mirror; glaring and painful. So much for collecting lake samples together.

“My equipment is by the lake,” Kiyoomi says to Ushijima. “Excuse me, I have to go take my samples.”

“A coincidence,” Ushijima says, hefting the back slung over his shoulder slightly. “I too was about to take water samples. Perhaps we could work together?”

“Of course.”

If anything, Kiyoomi tells himself, this mission will be more enjoyable than most now that they’ve encountered the Adlers. He’s successfully managed to pawn Atsumu off onto poor Kageyama, and the three loud birds have retreated far enough away that their squawks can’t be heard anymore. Finally, he’ll be able to focus without the constant background noise.

Ushijima is a meticulous and focused research partner, always doing everything by the book and with careful attention to detail. He’s already got a pot at the ready when Kiyoomi encounters a small patch of algae, held out ready for Kiyoomi to take. Likewise, Kiyoomi finds himself falling into a rhythm with Ushijima, mutual understanding negating the need for conversation between them.

He’s making far better time than usual, Kiyoomi notes as he packs away another set of samples. Hinata, as knowledgeable and helpful as he is, has a tendency to get distracted and start talking at Kiyoomi, or wander off in search of a particular plant or flower he’s  _ certain  _ he saw around here somewhere. It’s endearing, and Kiyoomi finds that it fills the long hours well, but it does mean that work takes twice as long as it should.

It’s quiet by the lakeside. There are no birds around, no frogs croaking, no fish splashing. Just the sound of the wind through reeds and the occasional squelch and splash of mud, accompanied by Ushijima’s measured breaths.

Kiyoomi finds his eyes wandering towards where Hinata is, half-hidden behind a bush of thick leaves, easily laughing and talking with Hoshiumi. 

It’s very quiet by the lakeside.

Ushijima accidentally knocks two vials together, and the clinking of glass on glass brings Kiyoomi’s attention back to his work. The pot in his hand has tilted, spilling muddy brown water down the side of his glove, dripping back down into the lake below. He huffs, and refills it.

It’s too quiet.

Kiyoomi never thought he’d be someone to miss the noise of another human being, never thought that he would prefer working with Hinata Shouyou - of all people - over Ushijima, but he just can’t seem to focus. The minutes drag by at a snail pace, and Kiyoomi finds his eyes returning to Hinata more and more frequently.

Hoshiumi has an arm slung around Hinata’s shoulders, yelling something into his ear with a wide grin on his face that rivals Hinata’s own. Hinata lets out a loud laugh in response and jokingly shoves at Hoshiumi, a matching smile on his face.

There’s a bitter taste in the back of Kiyoomi’s throat again, and an ache in his chest like his ribs are crushing his heart and lungs.

Does Hinata look like that when he’s with Kiyoomi?

Does Hinata actually enjoy working alongside Kiyoomi, as quiet and focused as he is? Would he prefer someone like Hoshiumi to work with, who jokes along with him and gets him and won’t tell him off for labelling the vials in the wrong order? Has he just been waiting for an opportunity to work with someone else, to get away from Kiyoomi?

_ Crunch _ .

The vial in Kiyoomi’s hand shatters.

“They seem to be very good friends,” Ushijima says beside him, and when Kiyoomi turns he can see Ushijima’s eyes watching him.

“It appears so,” Kiyoomi says, trying not to let any of the bitterness that coats his tongue seep into his voice like poison. “I didn’t know that they knew each other that well.”

“Hoshiumi-kun almost never stops talking about him.”

“I see.”

Ushijima looks down at Kiyoomi’s hands, and he does his best to hide the shards of smashed vial in his hand. “You seem quite fond of Hinata Shouyou.”

Kiyoomi discards the shards of glass into a small pot and starts to fill another vial with lake water. “He grows on you, a bit like black mould.”

“And you’re letting him.”

That gives Kiyoomi pause, hands still submerged in water.

Was he?

It was no secret he was fond of Hinata, and let him get away with things he would have scolded Atsumu and Bokuto for. He was more indulgent, allowing Hinata to pull on his sleeve and hold his hand and feed him snacks, letting him ramble as they worked and almost always giving in when Hinata asked for a favour, as long as it was reasonable.

But it was just that, fond indulgence.

Right?

“You’ve looked over at them more than you have at me,” Ushijima points out. “Are you upset that he didn’t want to work with you?”

“I-...No,” Kiyoomi says, shaking his head as he tries to get the thoughts buzzing around there in order.

He’s upset that Hinata doesn’t want to work with him?

No, that isn’t right. Kiyoomi is used to people not wanting to work with him. Atsumu had said it himself earlier, he isn’t exactly known for being a team player. Given the opportunity, almost everyone he knows does their best not to work with him if they can help it. Hinata was no different.

Except that he was. Hinata was different because Kiyoomi had actually thought Hinata enjoyed spending time with him. Hinata was different because Kiyoomi had actually, for the first time in his life, cracked open the tight front door to his heart and let Hinata have a peek inside. Then Hinata himself had weaseled his way through the crack in the door and made himself perfectly at home in Kiyoomi’s heart.

There is only one person in the world who knows Kiyoomi inside and out, and that’s his cousin, but Hinata is a close second. 

The thought terrifies him. Letting Motoya in and opening up to him had been harrowing enough, and he was his cousin by blood. Hinata was…

Hinata was terrifying.

He’s so bright and vibrant and excitable and he makes Kiyoomi do and say things he never would have before, encourages him to try new things and makes him feel like the centre of the universe whenever those brown eyes fall on him.

Kiyoomi hadn’t realised before now exactly how much he’d let Hinata in. Hadn’t realised it was so obvious to mere acquaintances how he looked at the other man, how he’d apparently  _ changed _ .

Kiyoomi is someone who likes to be prepared for every situation and every eventuality, because preparedness means that the chance of getting hurt or killed is lowered, and yet he’d been wholly unprepared for how Hinata had blazed into his life.

Hinata hasn’t hurt him yet. His worst crime is being reckless and endangering his own life along with Kiyoomi’s, but from the bitterness Kiyoomi feels when he looks at Hoshiumi and Hinata, he knows that the pain is inevitable. Hinata would never want to hurt him, no, but how long will it be before he does something reckless and foolhardy again, endangering not Kiyoomi’s life but his heart instead?

Hinata. Lovely, bright, sweet Hinata who has absolutely no idea the effect he has on other people's lives, pulling them into his orbit only to take off in pursuit of the next thing that catches his attention, leaving them to go hurtling down to Earth.

Hinata is wonderful but he is, as all humans are, messy. And does Kiyoomi want that messiness in his life? It all comes down to this: can he trust Hinata? If he were to take a chance on this and let Hinata take up permanent residence in his heart, could he be sure that Hinata isn’t going to impulsively, recklessly, unknowingly hurt him one day?

Kiyoomi trusts him with the research equipment, sure, but does he trust him with his heart - something infinitely more valuable and breakable?

How long will it be before, just like on  _ Mat Katan _ , he decides to go off and do his own thing, with little regard for Kiyoomi?

Maybe it’s an unfair standard to hold someone to. Hinata is only human after all, and it isn’t like Kiyoomi is without his own flaws. But this is his heart, and he takes matters of the heart even more seriously than he does anything else. 

He’d always thought before - all the way throughout his childhood, and his time at the academy and even after - that love was a waste of time. He’d seen those around him date and fall in love, and he’d thought they were fools for putting themselves in such a vulnerable position. What could be so special about someone else, he’d wondered, that these people would let them into their heart?

Now as an adult, experiencing something for the first time close to that - not love, it wasn’t love, he was sure of it - he feels more than ever that those people were fools. Love is terrifying, and people must be idiots if they think that the brief happiness it brings is worth the painful consequences later.

His feelings on that haven’t changed.

However, Ushijima isn’t wrong. Kiyoomi has changed since his time on the  _ MSBY _ . He sees it clearer than ever now. He’s relaxed slightly, no longer as uptight and rigid as he was before. He’ll never admit it out loud, but the Black Jackals have become something of friends to him. He cares for them, even when they’re annoying and he wants nothing more than to shove them out of an airlock. It isn’t just admiration for their skills and their work ethic that has him enjoying their presence on his team, but their personalities. A year and a half ago he could have never imagined it, but slowly Hinata’s been making good on his promise to bring him out of his shell and show him the joys of friendship. 

He’s built something tentative here - a friendship in the form of a rickety wooden shack, ready to collapse into pieces at the slightest disturbance. A friendship with the three of them, a comfortable dynamic that he doesn’t want to ruin. Just taking that step had been terrifying, and an experience that he’d rather never repeat. Four friends and his cousin is enough, thank you.

So: what to become of him and Hinata?

He needs to make a decision, because this limbo state they’re in can’t continue forever. At some point, he’s either going to have to let Hinata in past his impenetrable defenses, or he’s going to have to push him away and erect taller and stronger walls than ever.

Everyone had always praised Kiyoomi for being logical, for being the person who thought everything through and did everything possible to ensure the best outcome for the situation. Thinking logically, he knows what the best outcome for this situation is.

It’s better for all of them if he doesn’t let Hinata get too close. It’ll just hurt him in the long run, and temporary happiness isn’t worth having to pick up all the pieces of himself later.

Friendship is enough.

“Are you okay, Sakusa?” 

Ushijima’s thoughts jolt him from his musings, and he realises he’s been staring at the gently rippling surface of the lake for the past several minutes. “I’m fine,” he says eventually. “I just had some thoughts on my mind that I needed to sort through.”

“I hope you managed to figure it out,” Ushijima says, and there’s no trace of anything but sincerity in his voice. 

“I did, thank you.” As Ushijima said before, Hinata was like black mould growing on him and Kiyoomi had been letting him, but eventually you needed to clean and scrub away to remove it before you started to develop respiratory problems. “Nothing that a bit of spring cleaning can’t solve.”

It was for the best to not let Hinata get too close anymore.


	3. Chapter 3

After a year and a half of being either trapped on a spaceship crammed full of several hundred other people all breathing the same recycled air, or stepping foot onto as-yet unexplored planets with entirely new bacteria and viruses and germs, Kiyoomi is beyond grateful when he can step foot on Earth again.

The first time he does, he doesn’t even bother to put his facemask on. He just takes a big breath in, relishing in the fact that the smog of the Tokyo Federation Space Base tastes exactly how he would expect it to taste: acrid, bitter and cloying. He puts his mask back on after a few moments nonetheless, because if he breathed the air any longer it’d give him respiratory problems, but for the first ten seconds he enjoyed the unfiltered taste of smog and Earth germs.

Sweet, sweet Earth germs, easily killed by a spray of anti-bacterial spray or a wipe down with some cloth. 

It’s nice to be back on Earth.

Of course, good things can never last. It’s only a routine stop by for a couple of days, stocking up on fuel and doing a few necessary repairs that can’t easily be conducted in space.

And, an opportunity to let the crew stretch their legs. Kiyoomi is surely not the only one who’s noticed the increasing… frenzy of the crew. Last mission, Atsumu had eaten an anemone he found in a rock pool ‘just for some entertainment’, and promptly almost died. Bokuto had begun to experience some truly tremendous mood swings, a throwback to his teenage years. Kiyoomi had...well.

He’d been ignoring Hinata.

Not that much. Only a little bit. A tiny bit. When he knew he could get away with it, and Atsumu was too busy consuming foreign poisonous organisms to notice how Kiyoomi had been splitting them up to work individually instead of in pairs like he used to. 

So far Hinata hasn’t noticed, being far too busy himself running between small tasks aboard the ship. Every time Kiyoomi saw him he was ferrying parts down to engineering, or helping an electrician hold a wire in place to be soldered, or doing extra work in navigation. Always passing by in just a blur of orange hair and bright white smile.

It isn’t like Kiyoomi isn’t busy himself. This small break from planet-hopping means a chance to deliver his samples back to the lab on Earth, exchanging data with them and sharing the results of the analysis they’ve already done aboard the  _ MSBY _ ’s lab. There’s a lot to be done still, ensuring they've collected all the information they needed from their samples for their own initial planetary reports before handing it over to the next team for a more in depth analysis, as well as the actual report writing.

Like the incredibly organised person he is, Kiyoomi has already completed his reports. Hinata had offered to help him months ago, with a soft smile and warm eyes. Kiyoomi had sought him out to ask for assistance, and had his hand raised, ready to knock on Hinata’s door, when he’d stopped.

Working with Hinata would have meant spending hours with him - alone - in the lab, pouring over data together, hands near brushing as they’d moved to type on the computer. It would have meant the return of that terrifying feeling of being bare and vulnerable and spread open under Hinata’s bird-like gaze, the return of that bubbling jealous feeling thinking about how eager Hinata had been to work with Hoshiumi instead of him.

Kiyoomi had turned on his heel and walked away, not bothering to knock, and spent the next week writing the reports himself. Hinata hadn’t noticed his seclusion in the lab, too busy with his own tasks, and Kiyoomi pretended that it didn’t hurt.

He’s doing this to himself, he knows that. But it is what it is, and Kiyoomi is nothing if not stubborn. 

And so now he’s here, desperately trying to convince Atsumu to finish his part of the planetary reports, so they can all be completed and sent off to HQ to be filed. 

“Just write it, Miya,” he growls.

Atsumu lets out a loud whine, flopping back on the sofa in their meeting room. He rolls his head back against the seat cushions, fixing Kiyoomi with a beseeching look. “Do I have to do it right now?”

“I want to get these finished and sent off, so yes. As the team leader, you have to sign off on all of the reports.”

“Finally ya admit I’m the team lead,” Atsumu mutters, eyes rolling. “It’s not like ya can send it off without Bokkun’s part anyway, what’s the rush?”

“Bokuto-san has completed his already,” Kiyoomi says, feeling smug, and watches as Atsumu sits bolt upright.

“What? Bokuto’s done with his? What sort of witchcraft did ya pull to make that happen?”

Kiyoomi thinks about the messages he’d sent to Bokuto’s boyfriend, Akaashi, informing him that Bokuto had important documents to complete before they touched down on Earth, and asking if he could please remind Bokuto to do them. Bokuto had come slouching into the lab the next day, whining about how Akaashi had refused to let them meet on Earth until Bokuto had done all of his paperwork. “How did he know?” he’d mused, eyes wide. “Is he psychic?”

A smirk curves onto Kiyoomi’s lips. “It helps to have connections sometimes. Speaking of, wasn’t your old team leader called Kita Shinsuke?”

A finger wags in Kiyoomi’s face. “Don’t ya dare. Don’t do it, Omi-kun.” Kiyoomi eyes the computer pointedly. “Okay, fine, I’ll do it! On one condition.”

Kiyoomi lets out a long breath. “I don’t negotiate.”

“Then I won’t do the reports,” Atsumu threatens. “C’mon, it’s a small favour.”

“What is it?”

“Come to Onigiri Miya with me and the others.”

“No.”

“What? Why not?”

“I don’t want to.”

Atsumu squishes one cheek against the seat cushion. “But ya like Osamu.”

“That still doesn’t mean I want to go to his restaurant where he makes food with his bare hands.”

“He wears gloves!”

“With his hands, Miya.”

“It’s good onigiri.”

“No.”

“He even does miso as well, if ya don’t want onigiri. Please.”

“My answer is final.”

“...My old team lead Kita-san will be there,” Atsumu offers, looking unbearably pained. “Ya can talk to him about how shitty I am… and cleaning supplies… and whatever else boring people like you talk about.”

The offer is tempting. Kiyoomi’s never spoken to this Kita person himself, but he’s heard good and bad things from Atsumu, which clearly means that this Kita person is something of a god, able to both earn Atsumu’s respect but still put him in his place. What about meeting someone like that wouldn’t appeal to Kiyoomi? The opportunity to pull Atsumu down a few pegs is always tantalising, and he’s sure Atsumu feels the same, enjoying watching Kiyoomi squirm as he navigates the intricacies of social interaction with strangers.

Despite his best attempts to keep them all at arms length - a both professional and hygienic distance for coworkers - Kiyoomi has grown closer to the rest of his teammates, unconsciously adapting to their behaviours and quirks. Some (not him, he would never, at least not out loud) might even call them friends. He’s even found himself getting on well with Atsumu, which is clearly a sign of an impending apocalypse. 

“So?” Atsumu says. “Do ya accept the deal?”

Kiyoomi ponders it a second longer before sighing. “Fine,” he says, and Atsumu brightens. He’s been stuck in this ship and laboratory for far too long, and is in desperate need of a change of pace. Besides, the only people he’s seen for the last year or so are the crew, so he supposes he’s due an interaction with someone new. “But, you have to do the reports before we go there.”

Atsumu looks between the computer and Kiyoomi. There’s a list on there of all the reports he needs to review and write a summary for. “There’s so many of them.”

“Well,” Kiyoomi says dryly. “You probably want to get started then.”

And that’s how Kiyoomi finds himself lurking on the street outside Onigiri Miya’s Tokyo branch, located in a moderately quiet backstreet, Hinata waiting awkwardly beside him. It’s a warm and balmy evening, summer already in full swing, and it feels weird to stand on solid ground without wearing his space suit. Every now and then, Kiyoomi flexes an arm and feels the soft fabric of his jacket shift against his arm, a gentle reminder.

He glances at his watch. Eight minutes past. The Miya’s are late. They’d said they were bringing the mysterious Kita with them, picking him up from his farm in the middle of nowhere to bring him back.

Behind them, Onigiri Miya is winding down for the evening. Atsumu had assured Kiyoomi that they’d be going in after the part-timers had cleaned up, so it would be empty and hopefully germ-free. It wasn’t reassuring; Kiyoomi has seen how teenagers wiped down tables and surfaces, and it was definitely  _ not  _ satisfactory. 

Neither him nor Hinata talk as they wait. Hinata had tried initially, but after being shot down a few times by Kiyoomi he’s now furiously texting on his phone.

Perhaps the air might have been less awkward if Hinata hadn’t asked Kiyoomi if he wanted to hang out once they touched down on Earth, and Kiyoomi hadn’t rejected him completely. “I have too much work to do,” he’d said, pointedly ignoring the way Hinata’s face had dropped into a pout. “I probably won’t get out of the base the entire time we’re here.”

Yet here he was, standing beside Hinata as they wait to meet up with the others.  _ Damn Atsumu and his bargaining. I knew I shouldn’t have accepted. _

“Oh, Sakusa! Hinata!” Bokuto’s familiar booming voice echoes down the street. Kiyoomi lifts his head to look. Bokuto looks happy, practically glowing as he swings the hand linked with Akaashi’s. There’s a fondly indulgent look on Akaashi’s face too, one that he tries to mask behind his normal indifferent expression, but leaks through whenever his eyes fall on Bokuto and his lips turn up into a smile once more.

It had probably been hard for them, Kiyoomi supposes, spending a year and a half unable to see each other. They’re only halfway through this deployment, as well. Bokuto especially seems like the type to need a lot of attention and affection. Even for someone as unromantic as Kiyoomi, it’s obvious the two of them are absolutely smitten with each other.

(Not that he needs to be a romantic to notice the ring of lovebites around Akaashi’s neck, not quite hidden by the scarf covering them.)

Hinata falls quickly into greeting Akaashi and catching up with him, while Kiyoomi just watches with uninterested eyes from a metre or so away.  _ Why did I agree to come here? _

Before he can start planning ways to make a quick and strategic escape, feigning important work to do back in the lab, the Miya twins come ambling down the street. They look surprisingly placid and well-behaved for once, no spontaneous wrestling matches or name-calling going on. Kiyoomi can only assume this is the work of Kita, the short and unassuming man that trails behind them with a gentle smile on his lips.

“Oh, ya actually showed!” Atsumu says, eyes wide as he stares at Kiyoomi. 

“An oversight on my part,” Kiyoomi retorts. “I’ll make sure I don’t show up next time you invite me somewhere, just so you keep your expectations low.”

“Just for that, I’m sitting ya next to Shouyou-kun all evening.”

“Hm?” At the sound of his name, Hinata turns away from his conversation with Bokuto and Akaashi. “Why is that a bad thing? I love sitting next to Omi-san!” Hinata gives Kiyoomi a bright beaming smile, and his hand comes up to tug on Kiyoomi’s sleeve. “I’ll make sure I sneak you all the roasted green peas I know Osamu-san keeps in the kitchen. They’re your favourite, right?”

This evening is going to be the worst, Kiyoomi decides as he stares down at Hinata’s warm and open face, looking at Kiyoomi with such tenderness. It’s going to be the worst, and he’s going to go to hell for ignoring Hinata.

He’s supposed to be distancing himself from Hinata, not staring at his face lit by the evening sun and thinking  _ oh shit, you’re gorgeous, I wouldn’t mind if you hand-fed me roasted green peas.  _

When Hinata is being like this - so friendly and attentive and generous - how is he supposed to push him away?

It’s all he can do to manage a grunt and pull away from Hinata’s grip, sloping into the restaurant behind Osamu and Kita. Behind him, he can hear Hinata asking Atsumu if he did something wrong, or if Kiyoomi maybe isn’t feeling very well this evening. Even Atsumu has no answers, seemingly puzzled by Kiyoomi’s odd behaviour. Guilt sits heavy in Kiyoomi’s stomach, but he steels himself and pushes through.

Once inside, he settles himself down into the corner seat of a booth. Hinata settles next to him, already chattering away. With each word he speaks, Kiyoomi sinks further into the corner. 

This evening is going to be the worst.

* * *

Hinata seems to have picked up on Kiyoomi’s cold shoulder, occasionally shooting him long looks from across the table. He’s being so obvious about it that Kiyoomi’s sure some of the others have noticed too, casting concerned glances between Kiyoomi (doing his best to sink into his corner seat) and Hinata (staring at Kiyoomi with the ferocity of two thousand suns).

The group are loud and rambunctious. It’s a good thing they waited until after-hours to meet, because Kiyoomi can’t imagine Osamu would have much of a business if the other customers had to put up with all of this noise and mess. Even Kita’s piercing eyes can’t stop Osamu and Atsumu from playfully snapping at each other's necks all evening, their voices getting louder and insults more ridiculous the drunker they get. Kiyoomi does his best to tune out the conversation, but he does manage to exchange a few words with Kita. The man is almost exactly as he’d expected, and somehow his perpetual calm nature puts Kiyoomi more at ease than he would have thought possible with Hinata burning holes into his skull, the Miya twins flinging rice grains at each other and Bokuto and his boyfriend doing… whatever the fuck they were doing.

(Seriously, Kiyoomi has no idea what those two were doing. Some sort of psychic conversation? An intricate game of charades? Just gay people being gay people?)

Somehow, he manages to make it through the evening. The moment the clock on the wall hits 8pm he gets to his feet abruptly, not even caring that he’s disrupting the cheerful conversation between the others. “I have to go,” he says.

Atsumu waves a hand in the air lazily, cheeks already flushed red with alcohol. “Yes, yes, you’ve already fulfilled your end of the deal. Go and enjoy your self imposed seclusion aboard the ship.” 

“Deal?” Hinata asks curiously, eyes settling on Kiyoomi. It’s the first time their eyes have met this evening.

“You think I’d come here and hang out with you all out of my own free will?” Kiyoomi jokes flatly, summoning a laugh from Atsumu and Osamu. Hinata doesn’t join in, just watching Kiyoomi. It’s unsettling. Not wanting to seem impolite, Kiyoomi bids Kita and Akaashi goodnight and tells them it wasn’t horrible to meet them. It pulls an amused smile from Kita at least, who tells him that he’d love to meet and chat some other time. There’s a twist to his voice as he says the words, and somehow Kiyoomi knows there’s an unspoken message there.  _ It’d be nice to meet and talk another time, when you aren’t having a weird petty squabble with your coworker-slash-friend-slash-man-you-have-maybe-romantic feelings-for-but-are-too-chicken-to-ever-act-on-so-you-pushed-him-away-instead. _

Atsumu was right, Kita Shinsuke is intense.

Kiyoomi turns to leave, and can feel Hinata’s eyes boring into his back.

As he’s pulling the door open to leave, he can hear the scrape of metal on floor tile, and Bokuto’s voice asking: “Oh, Shouyou, do you have to leave too?”

Kiyoomi doesn’t pause to hear Hinata’s response, instead letting the door slam shut decidedly behind him and hurrying outside. It’s cooler outside now as the sun starts to set, casting long shadows across the pavement and staining everything burnt orange. 

The street is loud at this time of day, and over the chatter of a passing family Kiyoomi hears the open and shut of the door behind him.

“Omi-san!” Hinata’s voice calls.

Kiyoomi walks faster. One foot in front of another. He’ll avoid this conversation just like he’s ignored every other one. The pounding of feet on concrete behind him indicates Hinata is catching up, and so he just speeds up again. But not too much, he doesn’t want to run in this humidity.

“Caught you!” Hinata is joyous as he slides to a leaping halt ahead of Kiyoomi. “You sure were walking fast, Omi-san.”

“I have lots to do back on the ship,” Kiyoomi says stiffly, shuffling awkwardly from one foot to another. “Didn’t want to waste any more of my time there.”

The happiness drops off Hinata’s face so quickly that Kiyoomi swears he can see it happen. “Say, Omi-san, do you not like hanging out with us?”

Kiyoomi sighs. Behind his mask and in the evening heat, all it does is make him feel even hotter. “You know I don’t, Hinata.”

“Not even me?”

The blunt tone gives him pause. Hinata’s eyes are unyielding, fixed onto Kiyoomi’s face. “No,” he says eventually - slowly, so slowly. “Not even you.” It’s a lie, and if he’s not even fooling himself here he knows he certainly won’t be fooling Hinata. He can tell by the way Hinata’s scanning his face that he doesn’t believe him, looking for that tell-tale flicker of guilt.

“You don’t mean that,” Hinata asserts, all confidence. 

“I do,” Kiyoomi says. “I like you, just as I like our other teammates, but I don’t like socialising. You know this.”

Hinata looks crestfallen. Like he’s just had his feet knocked out from underneath him, or like someone he considered a close friend had just told him he’s nothing special to him.

(Yeah, Kiyoomi’s an asshole. He already knows this.)

“Is that why you were ignoring me then?” Hinata asks bluntly. “Because you don’t like socialising?”

“I wasn’t ignoring you.”

“Yes, you were.”

“I wouldn’t do something that petty,” Kiyoomi says.  _ Liar,  _ his inner Atsumu whispers. Kiyoomi imagines poking a pencil into its eye.

Hinata tilts his chin up, challenging. There’s a determined set to his jaw, a glint in his eye that says he isn’t backing down without an answer.“You wouldn’t? I suppose you also wouldn’t say you were more concerned for my safety than the rule-breaking back on _Mat Kazan_ , either?”

Kiyoomi bristles. “What, I’m not allowed to express feelings for my teammates anymore? You expect me to be a robot with no feelings? I can care for the safety of my teammates while also wanting to maintain a healthy boundary between coworkers.”

“That’s not how I meant it,” Hinata insists. Some passersby on the street give them both a look, and Kiyoomi knows they must think the two of them are a quarrelling couple. “Omi-san, please. I just want to know what happened. If it was something I did…”

“You didn’t do anything,” Kiyoomi tells him, and it’s the truth but also a lie, because it’s not what Hinata has done that scares him, but what Hinata  _ could  _ do. Distance between them is healthy, and needed, and it doesn’t mean Hinata was wrong it just means that Kiyoomi’s a  _ coward _ . “There’s nothing wrong, Hinata. You’re reading into it too much.”

“Right.” Hinata looks defeated. He seems to realise he’s blocking Kiyoomi’s path and steps to the side to let him pass. “Enjoy your work back on the ship. I’ll see you around.”

The note of finality and resignation makes Kiyoomi pause mid-step, hesitating. 

_ Am I doing the right thing here? Is this the correct decision to make? Is this just causing more unnecessary hurt? _

_ Is it worth it to push Hinata away and protect myself if I’m just hurting him in the process? Isn’t it just being selfish? _

_ Would it really be so bad to open myself up and let myself feel things? _

I’m not a robot without feelings, he’d said, but as he walks away from Hinata - heartbreak and upset clear on Hinata’s face - he thinks maybe he was wrong. Does he have feelings, if he can leave someone dear to him in pain as he walks away?

The only thing that convinces him otherwise is the constricting pain in his chest, and he thinks that  _ oh _ , perhaps it was a bit late to stop himself letting Hinata in. 

He’d pushed Hinata away to save himself, to stop Hinata from doing something reckless and breaking his heart after Kiyoomi had entrusted him with it.

Except it wasn’t Hinata hurting him. He’d done all of this himself, and hurt both of them in the process.

* * *

_ [A monotonous beep, followed by a clunking noise as if someone had dropped the recorder.] “How the fuck does Omi-kun work this thing? _

_ [A new voice pipes up, equally as confused.] “You press that button...yeah, that red one. Oh, it’s recording already! Hi, future me!” _

_ “Fuck! Wait, that’s on record. Whoops, sorry Omi-Omi!” _

_ “How did Omi do it again?” _

_ “It was something like-” [Throat clears.] “Lieutenant Miya Atsumu, Head of the Black Jackals Planetary Exploration unit. [Whispered.] Bokkun, your turn.” _

_ “Oh, okay! I’m Bokuto Koutarou, Defense and Contact Negotiator.” _

_“This is log uhhhh… eighty seven? Shit, I don’t know. It’s Year 2235, and we are on the five hundred and ninety ninth day of our journey. Currently located in cold, cold_ _Haur and the weather is overcast with a high chance of snow. Because this is a glacial planet.”_

_ [Affected weather presenter voice.] “With an ambient temperature of 233K, you might want to bring a coat and scarf with you! We are currently doing the log for today because our Head Researcher is…” _

_ “He’s in a bad mood.” _

_ “You can’t say that on record!” _

_ [A scoff.] “Why not? It’s true! He and Shouyou-kun aren’t even talking to each other-” _

_ [A third voice joins.] “Are you two done gossiping into the official exploration log, or should I give you another five minutes?” _

_ “Make that another ten, actually!” _

_ [An annoyed growl.] “Get to work already.” _

With an eye roll, Atsumu pointedly presses the stop button on the recorder and puts it back into his backpack. “Happy now?” he asks. Kiyoomi doesn’t even bother to reply, focused on double-checking his own pack.

The atmosphere inside the shuttle is unusually tense. Atsumu and Bokuto are doing their best to lighten it, squabbling away in the corner as they prepare, but it can’t make up for Hinata’s noise and presence. 

His personality, normally so bright and loud, dimmed down.

Kiyoomi’s still doing his best to ignore Hinata, although it’s mostly out of guilt now. He’d spent most of his evening aboard the ship attempting to work and getting distracted. Eventually, he’d given up and called Motoya, pretending to want to catch up with his favourite cousin (Motoya’s words, not his). Motoya had clearly known something was wrong but had the tact not to mention it, instead prattling endlessly on about the work he’d done with his team and the planets they’d visited.

It had been a decent enough distraction, and throwing himself into work had been too, but it still hadn’t stopped the guilt eating at him. All of this - distancing himself from Hinata, trying to keep up that facade of simply friendship - had been to stop Hinata from potentially hurting him. But he’d fucked up. He’d fucked up badly.

Now every time he looks at Hinata he feels guilty. It isn’t a familiar emotion to him, because Kiyoomi generally subscribes to the philosophy of ‘how you feel is not my fault’, but now he can say with complete confidence that feeling guilty absolutely sucks. Would not recommend it. 

“I’m all ready,” Hinata says, tightening up a strap on his pack. 

“Me too,” Kiyoomi says. 

Neither of them look at each other. Atsumu looks between the two of them and lets out a growl of frustration. “Yer both idiots,” he mutters under his breath. “Jeez, let’s go then.”

Opening the shuttle door lets in a blast of frigid wind, a flurry of snowflakes immediately descending upon them. Kiyoomi takes the lead, carefully stepping down onto the ground. Snow crunches underfoot with every step, his boots sinking in. “Reduced visibility,” he speaks into his comms. “About fifteen centimetres of snow underfoot. Seems stable, however.”

“If it’s stable then hurry up the pace,” Atsumu says. “You walk at the pace of an old man.”

Kiyoomi’s brow twitches with annoyance. “Do you _ want _ to walk into a snowdrift, Miya? Because I can arrange it.”

The visibility improves the further they trek from the shuttle, screen of solid white ahead morphing into shadowy grey forms and shapes. Trees, Kiyoomi’s mind supplies as he gets closer. With leaves, and berries. 

How the hell they’re surviving in this cold weather, Kiyoomi doesn’t know. It’s nearing the threshold for them to freeze, and this planet has been stuck in an ice age for the last several hundred thousand years. Kiyoomi’s barely been on this planet for half an hour and he’s already sick of the cold, starting to feel the slight nips of cold at his extremities. 

The branches of the trees are completely coated in thick white, bending dangerously under the weight. Every now and then there’s a loud crack and the sound of a soft thump that makes its way to their ears, yet another tree breaking under the pressure. The green needles of the trees are almost all frosted over, a thick coating of shimmery silver hiding what little colour there is. 

“ _ Walking in a Winter Wonderland, _ ” Bokuto sings under his breath, trudging along behind Kiyoomi. “This is some dense forest.”

“We didn’t manage to get many clear images from space,” Atsumu speaks up, “but it seems like there’s a gorge and some cliffs up ahead. Rivers frozen over completely.”

Kiyoomi hums noncommittally. There’s definitely more here than first meets the eye. The initial scans had indicated there would be little chance of vegetative life surviving, and so Kiyoomi had expected to see more of a desolate tundra, rather than picturesque snowy forest. Either way, it meant more for them to analyse, and suggested this planet could be reclassified as Possibility of Life, rather than the No Possibility of Life classification it was currently stamped with.

Something moves ahead of him, a swift blur moving through the air. A bird, perhaps? Wading through the snow, Kiyoomi can see some faint imprints in the snowdrifts, almost covered up by the snow still falling fresh from the sky.  _ Definitely a bird.  _

Forget about classifying it as Possibility of Life, they could bump this one straight up to Life Identified. “Miya, what was this planet categorised as?”

Kiyoomi can see the edge of the treeline up ahead now, closely packed tree trunks and snow-laden branches giving way to open air and a sudden drop undoubtedly hidden just two steps behind the edge of the trees. 

There’s the sound of Atsumu pulling up his records to check, letting out considering grunting noises that have Kiyoomi rolling his eyes as he does so. “Uh, it was No Possibility of Life.”

Kiyoomi frowns. “Are you sure?”

“Certain. I can do my job, ya know?”

His foot catches on a root hidden under all of the snow and Kiyoomi flails, almost face planting in the snow. A hand roughly grabs the back of his suit, pulling him back. He turns to thank Hinata, and doesn’t get anything more than a small nod in encouragement. Hinata’s expression is as cold and neutral as the rest of the surroundings, no sign of the childlike excitement and curiosity that Kiyoomi’s grown so used to by now. It feels wrong, feels  _ off,  _ even more so than the current planet situation. 

The forest opens up now, wind getting stronger as the four of them emerge onto the narrow cliffside. Across the gorge, they can see where the forest picks up again.

Bokuto takes the plunge to look forward, Hinata close on his heels as they edge over to the edge of the cliff. Kiyoomi shuffles closer to Atsumu, cursing the cold that seeps through his boots to his toe. “Are you sure the planet was categorised as NPOL?” he asks again. 

Atsumu sighs. “Look,” he says, showing Kiyoomi the screen. Exactly as he says, the letters are there. NPOL. “It was buried deep in the archives; there was barely any information on it. The classification has been moderated and confirmed by whoever the fuck it is that does this boring shit.”

“And the surface images?”

“Shit quality. Almost the entire planet was covered in thick clouds, so the visuals are appalling. Scans at other wavelengths mostly just showed empty tundra. No signs of life. I thought it’d be good to double-check down on the surface, and clearly I was right to do so.”

Realistically, Kiyoomi knows it isn’t Atsumu’s fault that someone was bad at their job and didn’t do the bare minimum of research to check all of the data before classifying the planet. But he’s in a bad mood, and Hinata is still ignoring him, and frankly Kiyoomi thinks that sometimes things that aren’t Atsumu’s fault should be.

“You didn’t think to be suspicious that it was classified as NPOL when there’s surface water?” he asks. 

“It ain’t my fault if someone mistyped POL as NPOL,” Atsumu grunts back. “Now, it’s fucking freezing. Are we going to get on with our work or not?”

There’s nothing Kiyoomi’d like more than to get to the bottom of why, exactly, this clearly habitable planet has been classified as not possible to sustain any life, but until he gets his hands on the ships planetary archives there’s not much they can do except their actual jobs. 

Kiyoomi’s eyes drift over to Hinata, busy playing in the snow with Bokuto. There’s a smile on his face, and Bokuto’s clearly doing his best to get his excitement up, but it isn’t the same. 

“Yes,” Kiyoomi says, turning back to Atsumu and ignoring the raised eyebrow. “Let’s get to work.”

* * *

The four of them split up, each taking a different direction from the shuttle point and spreading out. Normally they work in pairs, but the only one Kiyoomi can tolerate working with is Hinata and, well. Atsumu back heads towards the gorge again, and Bokuto follows the river downstream westwards towards the large frozen lake it spills into. Kiyoomi stays within the dense forest, and Hinata heads off towards the steep mountain slopes that lay north. He sets off with little more than a nod and a promise to Atsumu and Bokuto to stay safe, short legs trudging through the snow that’s almost thigh-high on him.

Kiyoomi had pretended he wasn’t watching him leave, busy adjusting the signal booster for their comms. Atsumu had seen right through him, brushing past with a “You’re going to have to talk to him eventually.” on the tip of his tongue.

The worst thing was that he was right. Kiyoomi can’t stand it when Atsumu is right.

Now, he’s left alone with only his thoughts and an army of frozen trees standing tall and proud like soldiers around him. 

They haven’t visited many frozen planets on their missions so far. Mostly they stick to Earth-like planets or water-worlds with a high amount of vegatative life, ideal for taking samples.  _ Mat Kazan  _ had been an anomaly they’d never repeated, for obvious reasons, but frozen planets were a rare visit because the possibility for life surviving was so slow.

It’s sad, Kiyoomi muses as he takes a snipping of a branch, that he can’t see Hinata properly enjoy their first time on a snow-covered planet. He knows the other man is from Miyagi, and he’s certainly seen his fair share of snow growing up. Perhaps if he hadn’t messed everything up, he and Hinata could have taken samples together and Hinata could have told him more about his childhood. Maybe he even would have made a snowball and thrown it at Kiyoomi, who would have pretended to be annoyed but secretly made his own super snowball to pelt back in return.

Kiyoomi rolls his eyes, exasperated at his own runaway thoughts. Romance truly does make you sappy.

He continues on for a while, taking samples and pretending he doesn’t notice the big gaping silence that would normally be filled by Hinata’s chatter, pretending that he doesn’t miss Hinata’s hand brushing against his as he passes him tools and samples.

It’s ridiculous. The whole point of pushing Hinata away was so that things could stay as they were and not get ruined, and yet here he is, alone. The exact opposite of what he wanted to achieve. Right now Atsumu and Bokuto don’t know what’s going on with him and Hinata, but undoubtedly when they do they’ll take Hinata’s side because why wouldn’t they? Then he’ll have ruined not only his tentative relationship with Hinata, but everyone else too.

_ Good job, Kiyoomi. You really acted with foresight back then to prevent the worst situation from coming to fruition. Oh, wait. _

Kiyoomi’s a proud person. The idea of apologising for something - especially for someone else’s  _ feelings  _ \- makes him want to shrivel up into a ball and never see the light of day again. There’s a long list of things he’d much rather do than apologise. Unfortunately for him, there’s an even longer list of things he’d do just to get things with Hinata back to normal again.

At this point, he’s resigned himself to accepting that whatever he and Hinata had is done with. There’s no way that Hinata still wants to be close to him and looks up to him after the complete lack of any emotional intelligence he’d portrayed, but if Hinata still wants to be friends then Kiyoomi would happily apologise just to get that back.

Ugh, emotions.

He hates that his heart has decided that Hinata is worth all of this hassle, and he hates that his brain agrees.

He walks for a while longer without purpose, meandering through the trees and bushes. Every now and then he’ll stop to take more samples when he spots a species he doesn’t think he’s seen already, and he monitors his location with careful eyes to ensure that he doesn’t stray too far from the shuttle.

The wind is starting to pick up a little, making branches heavy with snow and ice creak ominously above him. He can barely even see the grey sky above when he peers up through the foliage, thick dark leaves blocking the light and casting the forest floor into dusk.

He’s taking a short break under a thick-boughed tree with wide, sprawling branches and razor-sharp needles when he notices it, there on the trunk.

The marks scratched into the tree are deep, cutting through the thick layer of frost that coats everything, carving through the tough outer bark of the tree until it hits the soft inner wood of the trunk. Obscured by the frost, Kiyoomi doesn’t initially notice there are more of them.

Using his scalpel, he scrapes and chips away at the ice, slowly exposing the marks scratched into the wood. They wind around half of the thick trunk, all roughly the same size and different shapes. There is a roughness to the markings that suggests they weren’t done by an animal, and a geometric shape to them that implies something different.

Kiyoomi runs gloved fingers over the gouges carefully, thinking. 

It couldn’t be, right? Surely no one could survive in this cold…

Then again, he is a botanist. What does he know?

There are no markings on the next tree he checks, nor the several after that. He’s just about to give up when he spots them on another tree. Several markings, spanning half a tree's width at approximately chest height. The markings are different this time, but similar enough that Kiyoomi knows they are the same thing. 

As if there was any doubt in his mind,sticking out of the tree is a small, sharpened rock. Frozen in place where it is embedded in the trunk, Kiyoomi struggles to get it out at first, but after a few strong tugs it loosens.  _ It’s the same size, and the right shape, _ he confirms grimly.

Pressing down on his comms control, Kiyoomi says: “We need to get out of here right now.”

There’s a long pause, and then a crackle. “What?” Bokuto asks, voice distorted.

“Why?” Atsumu asks, audio slightly clearer. Hinata says nothing, and Kiyoomi frowns.

“I’m standing in front of a tree right now that has markings scratched onto it with an arrowhead.” His voice is calm as he relays to them, but there’s anger curling at the edges of his voice. “Miya, what the fuck?”

“I didn’t know shit about this!” Atsumu insists. “I swear. It was categorised as NPOL.”

Kiyoomi lets out a huff as he wades through the snow as fast as he can manage, careful not to trip on hidden roots and rocks. “Somehow, I don’t believe you. You’re supposed to find us uninhabited planets, you absolute idiot.”

Not planets with animal life on them, and certainly not planets with  _ sentient intelligent life on them. _ Most of the rules of the Federation were regarded as potentially bendable, sometimes even breakable, but there was one rule that absolutely could not be broken, or bent, or worked around in any way.

No contact with inhabitated planets.

That meant no drones, no touching down, and certainly no exploratory missions there. Inhabited planets, and their respective inhabitants, were to be left well alone by the Federation. Kiyoomi was sure it was actually a criminal offense to knowingly do so, and Miya fucking Atsumu had just directed them down onto a planet.

“How the fuck was I supposed to know there was intelligent life here?” Atsumu nearly screeches down the comms, lowering his voice slightly mid-sentence. “The classification said NPOL. The imaging showed a frozen tundra. Whoever did the classifying did such a shit job that it didn’t even show up on half the archive search pages, I found it purely by chance. Nothing about this suggested an inhabited planet. I thought it would be good to double check to confirm the archie categorisation!”

“Clearly someone messed up somewhere!” Kiyoomi lets out a sigh. His frustration is reaching its limit, and he can almost feel a migraine coming on. “Is Hinata with either of you? I’m worried he’s out of signal reach, he’s been rather quiet.”

“Not here,” Bokuto confirms. “I’m within view of the shuttle now and I can’t see him. Do you think he’s okay?”

There’s genuine worry in Bokuto’s voice. Kiyoomi knows because he recognises it as the same worry that’s squirming in his stomach. “I’m sure he’s fine,” he lies. “Atsumu, have you seen him?”

“Nope, nada.”

_ Hinata, where are you? _

Kiyoomi makes it back to the shuttle at the same time Atsumu does. There must be a question painted on his face because Atsumu shakes his head, expression hidden behind his tinted visor. “Didn’t pass him.” 

“Where  _ is  _ he?”

“I’m sure he’s fine,” Atsumu says, echoing Kiyoomi’s own words of encouragement. “It’s Shouyou-kun, after all. The comms are better onboard the shuttle, let’s try and reach him from there.”

Kiyoomi nods distantly.

Aboard the shuttle, Bokuto’s already shed the top half of his suit, frantically checking the ship's scanners for signs of Hinata. “I can’t pick him up anywhere,” he explains, eyes despondent. “What if he’s dead? Oh my god. How will I explain to Akaashi that I killed Hinata?”

“He’s not dead,” Atsumu assures before Bokuto’s panicking can bring Kiyoomi into his own panic spiral. “I’m sure the snow’s just interfering with the scanners. Right, Omi-kun?”

“I guess so, maybe.”

“Maybe? It’s not like you to be uncertain about things.”

“My bad,” Kiyoomi says, irate. “Normally I like to be prepared for every situation and eventuality so I can react and respond accordingly, but somehow I was completely underprepared for contact with alien life. I wonder why.”

“It’s not as bad as you’re making it out to be.” Atsumu’s attempt at de-escalation only serves to make things worse.

“I have a whole list of reasons why it is exactly as bad as I’m making it out to be,” Kiyoomi hisses, “starting with ‘ _ it’s illegal’ _ and ending with ‘ _ severe possibility of spreading dangerous foreign microbes to inhabitants of the planet we are encroaching on _ ’, but I’ll save you the rant until we have Hinata and are back on the ship.”

“Gee, thanks!”

Kiyoomi turns to Bokuto, hands still flying over the control panel. “We’ll have a better chance of detecting him if we’re above the forest - bring us a few hundred metres up in the air. He went North, correct?” Atsumu confirms it. “Then we’ll head over that way. Bokuto-san, can you steer?”

“Um,” Bokuto says, in the tone of voice that says  _ sure, I can do that, but you might want to focus on  _ this  _ terrible thing instead.  _ “Looks like there’s a strong storm building up outside.”

“How strong?”

“Strong enough we couldn’t fly in it. It’s safe for now, but in less than an hour we’re going to need to be out of here unless we want to get stranded. Which I also wouldn’t recommend, given how unstable the snowdrifts looked on some of the mountains nearby. High risk of avalanche.”

Kiyoomi curses Atsumu out in his head again. 

_ Let’s visit this planet,  _ he’d said.  _ It’s barren and desolate and has been in an ice-albedo feedback loop for the past hundred thousand years, so there’s definitely no chance of life existing there! _

_ It’ll be a boring trip,  _ he’d said.  _ There probably won’t even be any trees for you to take cuttings of, you’ll have to make do with snow! _

_ No trees.  _ Kiyoomi stares impassively at the towering trunks around them as the shuttle rises slowly, tall and solid wood clearly several thousand years old to have grown this tall.  _ Yes, definitely no trees here.  _

They physically feel the wind buffet them as they emerge from the cover of the forest, and the already-poor visibility out the front of the shuttle becomes even worse. The trees below quickly fade into nothing but faint shadow, the occasional looming trunk towering above the rest like a signpost.

Progress towards Hinata’s location is slow, with the decreasing visibility and increasingly strong winds that buffet them. Impatience thrums in Kiyoomi’s veins, but he keeps it under control. “We should be almost there,” Atsumu says.

“Check comms again,” Kiyoomi instructs Bokuto.

Holding one of the headphones to his ear, Bokuto listens intently. The others wait with bated breath. Kiyoomi’s fingers tap impatiently on his thigh, nerves thrumming through his body. 

_ Hinata, are you out there? _

Even with worry heavy in his heart, Kiyoomi stays optimistic. He knows Hinata, and knows exactly how capable the other man is. The chances of him being injured or out of commission are slim. The issue is just with the storm blocking out any communication.

Kiyoomi may not have been prepared for this situation, or for Hinata going missing, but he can have confidence in Hinata’s ability that he’s built up over years of hard work and preparation for this mission.

It will be fine.

There’s a crackle from the radio, and Atsumu lurches forward in his seat. Kiyoomi manages to restrain himself, staying seated as he listens.

Hinata’s voice filters through. “-kuto-san? It’s you!”

Bokuto holds the microphone as close to his face as possible. “Yes, it’s me! Hinata, where are you? We need to find you, the storms getting worse.”

The audio fades in and out, and they all strain to catch what words they can. “...mountain, and then I… find Atsumu-san...glacier. Where…”

He cuts out, leaving only static. Kiyoomi’s mind is running a mile a minute, thinking back on the scans and images he’d poured over on the way here. “North-east,” he says decisively. “He’s by the glaciers to the North-east of us, further upriver from the gorge we saw earlier.”

The radio crackles once more. “...owdri… nstable…”

Kiyoomi frowns. What’s he trying to say? Bokuto tries to ask Hinata to speak again, but there’s silence on the other end. They must have lost signal, but they know where he is now, and Atsumu’s able to steer them towards the North-East as Bokuto tries to contact Hinata again.

Even with stabilisers, the shuttle still rocks slightly in the strong winds. Unable to sit around and do nothing while Atsumu and Bokuto work, Kiyoomi disappears to the back of the shuttle. Their packs lie discarded, strewn across the floor in haste. Very little sits within the canisters and tubs they had brought for samples, but Kiyoomi does notice a solid lump of quickly-melting snow poking out of Atsumu’s pack. 

His helmet sits on the side, and Kiyoomi grabs it. With his free hand, he starts to rifle through the cupboards and supplies nearby. In case Hinata is injured, they need to be prepared.

“What are you doing?”

Kiyoomi doesn’t falter at the sound of Atsumu’s voice. “Preparing.”

“You’re not the one going out there.”

That does make him pause, spinning round. “What?”

“Bokkun’s going.”

“Why not me?” Kiyoomi says. “That makes the most sense.”

Atsumu leans against the doorframe. “No, it doesn’t. Bokuto’s the most experienced out of us, and he’s the strongest as well. He’s got the best chances of getting Hinata back.” His voice is measured, as if he knows the best way to get Kiyoomi to listen is to stay calm.

“Then send both of us,” Kiyoomi argues. “That’s the most reasonable solution here. What if Hinata is injured, or Bokuto-san gets injured? Two people are better. It’s logical.”

Considering it, Atsumu nods. “Okay then.”

It isn’t logical. Sending two of their three remaining crew to help Hinata is just reckless endangerment, risking more lives should something go wrong. But Kiyoomi can’t just do nothing, not when Hinata is in danger. If Kiyoomi were viewing this situation as an outsider, he’d roll his eyes and condemn the blatant recklessness and stupidity of their crew.

Send one person to rescue him, and have the other one on standby, he’d say. Or perhaps, if he were in his right mind he would have never suggested they all split up individually in the first place.

Except there are these pesky things called emotions that get in the way, and Kiyoomi can’t act like an outside observer in this situation because it’s  _ Hinata _ . What an idiot he’d been, trying to push Hinata away before he got too close to hurt him, not realising that it was too late. And now…

Bokuto emerges from the cabin, and Kiyoomi passes him his helmet. 

“We’re right above the gorge now,” Atsumu says, speaking to them through the comms. “The blizzard is picking up now so it’s hard to locate Shouyou-kun, but I think he should be somewhere in the vicinity. Head East about a hundred metres or so and you’ll find the glacier.”

“Got it,” Kiyoomi says.

“Don’t die.”

Bokuto opens the doors, letting in a torrent of snow and powerful winds that force them several steps back. “We’ll do our best!”

Underfoot, the snow seems even thicker than earlier, and keeps getting whipped up into their faces. In the reduced visibility, Kiyoomi can just about make out the sharp drop of the gorge. Bokuto sets off first, ploughing through snow with solid steps, and Kiyoomi follows in his footprints.

As he walks, he can feel the solid ground and snow underfoot giving way from hard-packed dirt to loose rock and ice. They must be getting close.

Bokuto keeps trying to contact Hinata on comms, spoken words snatched away by the roaring winds within seconds. Even if Hinata does respond, Kiyoomi doubts they’d be able to hear it over the noise. 

A dark shadow looms ahead, solid and unforgiving.  _ A cliff face, _ Kiyoomi thinks. Hinata might have taken shelter near here.

Sure enough, Bokuto rushes towards a small outcrop on the rock as they draw nearer. Against the grey ice and rock, a lump of black and gold huddles. “Hinata!” he says, quickly falling to his knees in the snow beside him. Kiyoomi stays back slightly, relaying to Atsumu their location.

“Bokuto-san!” Hinata says, sounding relieved. “I didn’t think my messages were getting through.”

“They were a bit choppy,” Bokuto admits. “But we found you! Sakusa figured out where you were. Thank god, I was so worried.” He has his arms wrapped tightly around Hinata, and Kiyoomi just wants to step forward and wrap Hinata in a hug himself. 

“We need to go,” is what he says instead, drawing Hinata’s attention for the first time. “The blizzard is getting stronger, if we don’t leave soon we’ll be stranded. Miya’s bringing the shuttle over, let’s get closer to the gorge so he can see us.”

Hinata nods. The wind strengths are getting ridiculous, almost sending the three of them bowling over as they venture out from the shelter. 

The shuttle is waiting by the time they make it to the edge, wavering dangerously side to side. It looks like it’s about to crash into the cliffside any second. “Please hurry up and get on.” Atsumu’s voice is strained. “I can’t hold it stable for very long.”

As he speaks, there’s a distant rumbling noise. Like static, or white noise, but far louder. Bokuto, midway through pulling himself into the shuttle, pauses and tilts his head to one side. “Is that an avalanche?”

“Don’t know, don’t care,” Atsumu says. “Move quicker and it won’t be our problem.”

Kiyoomi is the next to board, easily taking a large step from the cliff onto the shuttle. Bokuto offers him a hand, pulling him up. “Okay, Hinata now.”

Even over the rumbling noise, they all still hear the loud cracking. Hinata stumbles backwards, quick reflexes saving him as the cliff beneath his feet crumbles and falls apart. Large chunks of snow-covered rock tumble down into the gorge, disappearing into white. 

The shuttle is too far away from the cliff for Hinata to reach now, and Atsumu lets out a groan as he tries to steer it in closer. With the winds buffeting them at high speeds, it’s like trying to thread a needle during a magnitude 10 earthquake.

“I can’t get it any closer,” he yells across the shuttle at them. “Winds are too strong.”

“Touchdown and we’ll pick him up,” Kiyoomi responds. His eyes are still fixed on Hinata, looking so small as he stands in the snow, gusts of wind pushing him around like a ragdoll.

“I can’t. We’ll never get back up again in this weather.”

The static rumbling is getting louder and louder. It’s an avalanche no doubt, about to come rushing down the mountain and over the forest, crushing everything in its path. 

“Then what about Hinata?” Bokuto asks, voice quiet. 

Atsumu pauses. Kiyoomi speaks before he can. “I’ll go back down. Attach a rope to me and pull us both up, it’s our best chance.” He already has the steel rope in his hands, busy fixing it to his suit. “Bokuto-san, can you man the winch?”

Bokuto nods, and then Kiyoomi heads back over to the open shuttle doorway. The ferocious winds are bringing in piles of snow, and the whole shuttle rocks dangerously, but Kiyoomi can see Hinata and that’s all the encouragement he needs.

He shifts his feet, and then eyes the distance to the cliff.  _ Bad idea! Bad idea!  _ His brain repeats.  _ Don’t do it, don’t do it.  _ For once he doesn’t listen to that little voice.

He stumbles in the snow as he lands, but he lands. 

Hinata gapes ahead of him. “What are you doing?” he asks. 

“Helping you,” Kiyoomi says, as if it’s obvious. “Now, quick, get over here and I’ll attach you to the rope. Bokuto-san will pull us up.”

Hinata nods and takes a few steps forward, but then there’s another ominous cracking noise. They both freeze, neither of them moving a step.

Atsumu’s voice crackles in Kiyoomi’s ear. “What’s the hold-up?”

“Clifftop is crumbling again.”

He can hear Atsumu swear. “Just risk the collapse and grab him, Omi.”

“That’s too dangerous-”

“I can’t hold the shuttle here any longer. Grab him, or we risk losing all our lives.”

Kiyoomi pauses, and then takes in a deep breath. He’s panicking, and it’s never good to panic. They can do this, they just need to be careful.

He shuffles one foot forward, and then the other. Nothing happens, and so he takes another step, and then another. Soon enough, he’s only half a metre or so from Hinata.

Within touching distance. He takes one more step, and stretches his arms out. Hinata reaches out in turn, and that’s when everything goes wrong.

With a cracking and crunching noise that echoes so loudly it sounds as if the whole world is falling apart around them, the cliff beneath Kiyoomi’s feet gives way.

He hangs suspended for a second, and then the last thing he sees before he falls is Hinata’s stricken face, and his hands reaching out. Fingertips just brush against Kiyoomi’s, and then he’s swallowed up by the blizzard.

Kiyoomi freefalls for a few seconds, wind whistling past him and all around a blank white slate, before he’s roughly jolted by the rope attached to his hips. The force of the impact jarrs him, and the next thing he knows he’s being pulled onto the shuttle by strong hands.

Body collapsing on the floor, he barely registers the hiss of the shuttle door locking shut behind him, or the hands prying off his helmet to check his head. His body aches from the rough tug of the wire, and he’s still winded, gasping for breath. Black dots dance across his vision, teasing and disorienting him.

“Hinata?” he asks, head still disoriented. He struggles to sit up, still tangled in the rope around his waist.

Bokuto meets Atsumu’s eyes through the doorway, and they both say nothing. They don’t need to.

Kiyoomi falls back onto the floor and stares up at the ceiling. He stays that way the entire journey back.


	4. Chapter 4

The first thing Kiyoomi does once they’re onboard the  _ MSBY  _ is try to punch Atsumu in the face. It fails, because Atsumu is used to unexpected attacks (he has a twin brother) and because Kiyoomi hasn’t ever tried punching anyone before, so it’s a very shit attempt.

Regardless, Atsumu twists Kiyoomi’s arm until he hisses, and then drops it. Kiyoomi stumbles back, falling down. “Calm the fuck down,” Atsumu says, clearly irritated but holding himself in check. They’re still in the decontamination chamber of the ship, industrial-grade disinfectant spraying all over them like fine mist. It leaves a sour taste in Kiyoomi’s mouth.

“You left him behind,” Kiyoomi says, voice tight with anger. He rubs at his twisted arm gently, relishing in the sting of pain it sends up his arm. “He needed our help, and you made me leave him behind.”

“Yer out of your mind,” Atsumu snarls back, and it’s only Bokuto’s quick movements that hold him back from flinging his own punch at Kiyoomi. “Yer trying to blame me for this?”

“You’re the one who steered the ship away!”

“Because there was a fucking bli-”

“Both of you, stop it.” Bokuto’s voice is loud, cutting across their raised voices. There’s a foul look on his face that Kiyoomi’s never seen before, dipping well past ‘teenage bad mood’ to ‘extremely angry’. “Seriously, you’re both acting like children.”

Somehow the words hurt more coming from Bokuto, but seeing the way Atsumu pouts and mutters “ _ he started it” _ there’s not much they can do to defend the accusation. 

It does give Kiyoomi time to calm his anger slightly and take a deep breath, gathering his thoughts. “Hinata’s still down there,” he says eventually. “We can’t leave him there, he might need help.”

Atsumu lets out an exaggerated sigh, eyes rolling. “Whoever said anything about leaving him?” He holds a hand out to Kiyoomi, offering to help him off the ground. In the background, the doors of the decontamination room beep and unlock. “If we’d stayed any longer, that blizzard would have brought us all down and we’d have no chance of finding him. This way, we can gather more crew and supplies before we start searching.”

Kiyoomi blinks in surprise. Carefully, he accepts Atsumu’s offered hand. “I…”

“You’re not the only one who cares about Hinata,” Bokuto pipes up. “We’re teammates, but before that we’re friends. We wouldn’t just leave him behind. Just like we wouldn’t leave any member of this team behind, even if they were being a bit of an asshole.” Bokuto’s eyes skim over both Kiyoomi and Atsumu.  _ Clearly playing favourites, _ Kiyoomi notes with a small smile. But he can’t exactly judge.

The decontamination doors open with a  _ whoosh _ , and Kiyoomi finds an uncomfortable arm being swung over his shoulders as they step through the doors. “I can’t believe the great Sakusa Kiyoomi thought we were just going to save our own asses and leave Shouyou-kun behind,” Atsumu says, gripping tighter as Kiyoomi attempts to wriggle from his grasp. “But, I guess love does make ya a bit stupid doesn’t it?”

“I thought the saying was that love makes you blind,” Bokuto says, walking backwards ahead of them so he can stare at Kiyoomi and Atsumu. He almost trips at one point, and then rights himself.

“I am  _ not  _ in love!”

“Oh, that too. Haven’t ya seen the way this idiot seems to think Shouyou-kun isn’t clearly smitten for him as well? The way he hardly seems to notice us when Shouyou’s there?”

“Those are blatant lies,” Kiyoomi says.

“Just admit that yer in love with him,” Atsumu says, finally releasing Kiyoomi from his one-armed grip. “At the very least, ya can’t think rationally around him.”

Kiyoomi words his sentence carefully. “I care for him, yes. More than I expected to, and that’s terrifying.”

“Is that why you pushed him away?” Bokuto asks. “Because you were scared?” He tilts his head to one side in a movement reminiscent of Hinata, and Kiyoomi’s heart aches.

It is, but Kiyoomi doesn’t say it aloud. They don’t need him to. 

“Either way, the Captain called us to the Bridge to discuss, so let’s get going,” Atsumu says, giving Kiyoomi one last shudder-inducing pat on the shoulder.

He startles. “What? He did? When?”

“Got the message back on the shuttle.”

Hurrying to catch up to Atsumu, Kiyoomi lets out an aggrieved groan. “Why didn’t you  _ mention _ that, instead of grilling me on my personal feelings for Hinata?”

Atsumu just shrugs, and Kiyoomi regrets not punching him in the face when he’d had the chance. He settles for fixing him with a look that could curdle milk.

The bridge is bustling with crew, the communications control panels crowded with people. There are crew members rushing past with hands full of papers or tablets, calling out to each other frantically and speaking into handheld comms. The busyness makes Kiyoomi’s skin crawl, but he still carves a path through the crowd to Meian.

Someone taps the captain on the shoulder to get his attention, and he raises his head from the control panel full of diagnostics and information he was examining. “You’re back!”

They all give a salute. “Sir,” Kiyoomi says. “Hinata is-”

“Oh, I know. Miya briefed me on the journey up, while you were knocked out for a bit. Which reminds me, have you been to Medical yet? They told me you took quite the tumble off a cliff, and you’re favouring your left side.”

Kiyoomi’s hand instinctively goes to his ribs, which still ache slightly. He’d been at an odd angle when the rope had tugged him up earlier, and now even the harness secured around him had stopped his ribs being jarred painfully. “I’m fine, sir. Nothing more than an ache.”

“Get it checked out anyway. We can’t have any more crew injured or missing.”

“We have to find Hinata first,” Kiyoomi insists. He can see Meian’s eyebrow raise in surprise.

“Believe me, we’re working on it, but with the weather so bad down there we can’t just launch an immediate rescue mission. But I’ll let you stay for the briefing, and then you’re going to Medical. No questions asked, okay?”

“Yes, sir.”

Meian leans back against the control panel. “So, I got the Cliff Notes version from Miya, but what exactly happened?”

“Long story,” Atsumu says with a sigh.

“Not really,” Kiyoomi interrupts, glaring at Atsumu. “It’s rather short. Someone fucked up when selecting a planet from the archives.”

Atsumu throws his hands up in the air. “I told you I didn’t already, ya bastard! Look, I’ll even find it in the archives now and show ya.” He stomps over to the table, muttering angrily under his breath.

Still grumbling, he types in keywords and then swipes and scrolls through the archives. Hundreds of images of planets flip past on the screen; from huge red and beige gas giants to small icy planets to deep blue habitable planets that are swathed in ocean all over. Eventually, he finds what he’s looking for.

“Here, see!”

With a two-finger flick like a salute, he summons the planet information up from the control panel and into a floating hologram. A large sphere sketches itself out in the air in front of their eyes, ice white and steel grey all over. Just like Atsumu had said earlier, it’s a poor quality image. Labels appear, pointing out vital information about the planet. 

_ Categorisation: NPOL _

_ Environmental Ecosystem: Tundra _

_ Surface Equilibrium Temperature: 202K _

_ Weather: Permanent Snowstorm _

_ Orbital Period: 354 years _

_ Rotation Period: 58.2 days _

_ Gravity: 18.23 m/s _ _ ² _

Kiyoomi frowns. “Some of these numbers make no sense.”

Bokuto nods in agreement. “The gravity we experienced down there was almost Earth-like - I’d say maybe 8 metres per second squared?”

“It wasn’t a tundra either - there were forests teeming with life, and the ambient temperature was high enough to sustain life. Not much, but it was possible.”

Meian lets out a low hum. “Is it possible that the clouds obstructed the surface and resulted in poor estimations and wrong categorisation?”

“Not likely,” Atsumu cuts in. “Especially not with the technology we have available to us now. Our imaging capabilities can produce far better images than this. It doesn’t add up.”

“Add into all this that the planet was inhabited by clearly intelligent and sentient life,” Kiyoomi says. 

“It’s all cause for concern,” Meian agrees. “To think that this wrong data resulted in a situation like this… The most pressing issues here are, of course, that we have intruded onto an inhabited planet and one of our crew remains down there. While you three were on your way back up here, I liaised with a few of my old classmates who work in the archiving department back on Earth.”

“Hm?” Atsumu perks up.

Meian lets out a long sigh, scrubbing at his face with his hands. Everyone around them is still hard at work. Kiyoomi doesn’t think he’s ever seen them this busy in here. “The good news is, I think I know what’s going on here. The bad news is that it’s not good news.”

“What  _ is  _ going on?”

Gesturing at one of the assistants, Meian says: “Bring up the images.” The hologram of the planet disappears, and in its place are zoomed in images of the surface. They must have been taken before the storm enveloped the whole surface.

Kiyoomi takes a step closer to examine them. The images show some mountains on the planet located much further to the East than they’d touched down. It looks like the cliffs have crumbled a bit into a quarry. Except that isn’t quite right. In the centre, there’s a huge metal structure. It looks like a telephone tower, or a crane. Several images of the planet in other places show the same thing - that towering metal structure.

“This is…”

“That’s right,” Meian nods. “They’re fracking.”

“Bastards,” Atsumu spits.

“We confirmed it with subsurface imaging. There’s a whole bunch of oil under all of that ice.”

Bokuto looks disgusted. “What, so they uploaded a whole bunch of fake information on the planet so that no one visits, just so they can fly under the radar when they exploit it for oil?”

“That’s exactly it,” Kiyoomi says with distaste. He should have guessed, the chances of the mix-up being an innocent mistake were so small. “They know if they admit the planet is inhabited they’d never be able to get within a parsec of it again without being in breach of Federation Law, but if they disguise it as a planet that no one in their right mind would want to explore...”

“Good thing Atsumu isn’t in his right mind then,” Bokuto says. Atsumu sticks out his tongue at him.

“I’ve tried putting a few feelers out into the Federation,” Meian explains. “I want to see if this sort of corruption extends higher up, or if it’s just a few people trying to exploit the system.”

“I wouldn’t be surprised if the higher ups are in on it,” Kiyoomo says darkly, and Bokuto kicks his ankle in an attempt to shut him up. “What? I’m not wrong. So many of the benefactors of the Federation have their roots in exploitation of the natural resources of our planet at the expense of oth-” Atsumu slams a hand over Kiyoomi’s mouth

“You’re not,” Meian agrees. “Though I will pretend I did not hear that.”

“No, please, admit you did hear it. I’ve voiced my complaints to the board several times already and never received a response. Maybe they’ll take note this time.”

“I’ll pass that on.”

Atsumu claps his hands once to get their attention. “Back on track. What are we going to do about Hinata?”

Kiyoomi snaps back to focus once more. The other man is still down there on that planet - possibly alive, possibly not. If he is alive - and Kiyoomi has to believe that he is - then with the freezing temperatures and unstable snowdrifts, there’s a chance he won’t last if they leave it too long to rescue him.

“Don’t worry,” Meian says. “I’ve got a plan.”

“Is it a good plan?” Kiyoomi asks dryly.

“Well,” Meian answers with a sheepish grin. “It’s the best one we’ve got.”

* * *

‘The best one we’ve got’, Kiyoomi soon discovers, just means calling in several other research teams to assist in locating Hinata.

He can admit, however, that  _ is  _ the best plan they’ve got. They can’t alert the Federation Headquarters to what’s going on currently, because that would admit to breaking the law and result in Hinata stranded and all of them in jail. It could take months for the issue of the false categorisation and secret fracking to be handled, and Hinata would long be dead by them.

Besides, a large-scale search team could cause more problems. This way they’re limiting the number of people on the planet to the absolute minimum. Kiyoomi’s eyes scan over the crowd gathered. It helps that almost everyone here is skilled in planet exploration. Meian had called in every favour he had, and all the ships within a few hours journey of their location had sent over their research teams ASAP. The Adlers from the  _ Schweiden  _ had been the first to arrive, and after that the Red Falcons, EJP Raijin and several others. It had been rather entertaining to see Atsumu’s face go bright red as Ojiro Aran had greeted him with a smile and a one-armed hug. 

_ Seems like I’m not the only one out here with embarrassing feelings. _

Most ships had managed to spare a member of two of the crew, even some that Kiyoomi didn’t recognise himself. Kiyoomi swears he’s seen some people from the Polish and Argentinian research vessels here too.

A hand claps him on the shoulder and he starts. “Miss me?” Motoya asks. His hair is shorter than when Kiyoomi saw him last, but there’s still that familiar smile. Instinctively, Kiyoomi relaxes slightly.

“Motoya,” Kiyoomi greets him. “I didn’t think you’d be able to make it. Your ship was quite far away, and Miya said that Suna couldn’t make it.”

“Suna’s here too,” Motoya says in surprise. “I think he just wanted to mess with Miya.”

“Ah.”

“Besides,” Motoya says with a secret smile. “I couldn’t not come when I heard what was going on.”

Kiyoomi doesn’t like that. Kiyoomi recognises that look, and he doesn’t trust it. He’s been on the receiving end of that look enough times to know that it spells trouble. “What do you think is going on?”

“That the love of my cousin's life is lost and stranded on a planet. Why, am I wrong?”

Kiyoomi doesn’t bother to answer, instead just fixes Motoya with a glare. 

“Group up!”

Aran’s voice comes from the centre of the small clearing, over by where the shuttles are clustered together. Along with the others, Kiyoomi shuffles over to listen.

Aran surveys all of the gathered faces. “I’m sure you’ve all been briefed on what’s going on, and I don’t need to spend any time explaining it all to you again. The information on Hinata’s last location should be on your monitors. We’ll be tracking locations to ensure no one else gets lots. You all know the procedure. Remember, we need to do everything we can to stay far away from the inhabitants of this planet, even if that means abandoning our mission if need be.” Kiyoomi sees some heads nodding in the crowd. Aran looks satisfied by their response. “Great! We’ll group into three’s and then head off. Good luck. I’m sure we’ll find him.” It might just be his imagination, but Kiyoomi thinks he sees Aran’s eyes hover on him.

Kiyoomi would much rather search for Hinata alone, but the more eyes the better. Motoya drags over his teammate Sarukui to form a group with them. 

For the most part, the two of them leave him alone to search. They hover behind, conducting their own investigations, and don’t speak to him unless it’s about their next location to explore. Motoya seems to know his cousin well enough to know that he’s in the mood to be left alone right now, and Sarukui must have enough self preservation not to disturb him.

The storm that blew through just the other day has changed the landscape of the planet drastically. The sky is now clear and blue, rather than overcast with thick clouds. In the distance, crumbling grey mountaintops have been exposed by avalanches and strong winds that blew the snow away. At the base of mountains, trees are flattened and broken branches and boughs lie scattered for miles around. There’s no sign of Hinata, however.

On the first day, they stop by the cliff where Kiyoomi had last seen Hinata before he went plunging down. Looking down from the jagged edge of the cliff face at the frozen river below, covered in crumbled stone and dirt, sends phantom aches through his ribs and lungs.

“Hm,” Motoya says, looking at his monitor. “Seems like Suna, Aran and Atsumu are investigating around the river at the bottom there.”

“He won’t be down there,” Kiyoomi says decisively.  _ Unless,  _ a voice at the back of his head says,  _ there was another avalanche just after you left, and he was knocked off into the gorge.  _ Kiyoomi shakes his head to disperse the thoughts. He has absolutely no informational basis for that assumption. It’s borne purely from fear and concern, and he refuses to entertain the idea any longer than he has to. “Last time, he took shelter under a cliff face. Lets search there again.”

Sarukui and Motoya nod in agreement.

Kiyoomi leads the way to the same cliff Hinata had hidden under before, but it’s almost entirely obstructed by snow now. Thick, frozen snow that’s solidified into ice as hard as rock. It’s several metres thick, and they’d need a strong saw to get through it. Another dead end. Kiyoomi’s jaw tightens. Every hour they waste chasing dead ends is another signature on Hinata’s death certificate.

Motoya sees the expression on his face. “...I’ll ask Aran whether we have a saw on the shuttles.”

“Don’t bother,” Kiyoomi says. “I already know we don’t. Not one big enough to cut through there, anyway.” He turns away from the cliff. If Hinata is trapped under that, he’s certainly dead already.

They return to camp once the exhaustion starts to set in after almost twelve straight hours of searching. Motoya offers a casual hi-five to the team that tags in for them, heading out into the snowy wilderness as Kiyoomi strips from his suit inside the shuttle.

A waste of a day.

He bristles in frustration. There’s nowhere for him to direct his anger but himself. If only he had talked to Hinata and sorted things out before this mission, if only he’d insisted Hinata get on the shuttle first, if only he’d managed to grab him before the cliff collapsed.

So many ifs. So many things he could have done better, if he’d just been thinking straight. But that’s the problem, isn’t it? He just can’t think straight around Hinata.

Wishing Motoya goodnight, he climbs into his bunk and just lies there. Exhaustion tugs at his eyelids, and he knows he should sleep but he can’t. Not with Hinata still out there.

A voice that sounds like Hinata’s sounds in his ears.  _ Omi-san? Not sleeping? That’s bad for your brain! How can you deliver your best performance and ability if you’re sleep-deprived, hm? And after all those times you told me off for what happened back at the academy… _

_ I know, Hinata,  _ Kiyoomi tells him.  _ Sleep deprivation has significant effects on cognitive brain function and motor skills, not to mention mood. _

Hinata huffs.  _ Not like you’d notice much change there. _

_ Oi, fever-boy! _

_ You know, they say that partial sleep-deprivation has a more significant effect on functioning than long or short-term sleep deprivation.  _

Kiyoomi lets out a low hum in response, eyelids drooping.

_ Get some rest, Kiyoomi,  _ his Hinata whispers,  _ then come and find me tomorrow. _

Despite the thoughts swirling in his mind and the anxiety bubbling in his chest, Kiyoomi falls asleep.

* * *

The next few days are spent tirelessly searching. Every day Kiyoomi gets up, dragging Motoya and Sarukui with him, and searches. They search the forests, and the quarries, and the mountains.

There is no sign of Hinata.

* * *

It’s on the fifth day of the search that Aran sits Kiyoomi down after a long day and tells him that they’re going to stop. Kiyoomi had watched him take Kageyama aside earlier, along with Atsumu, and later saw them both storming off angrily. He’d wondered at the time why they were having such an emotional reaction, and now he understands.

Kiyoomi bristles at the words. “What do you mean we’re going to stop? We haven’t found him yet.”

“Inunaki-san said that, given the meagre supplies in his back and the warmth of his suit, he’d be able to survive at maximum a week here. It’s been six days, Sakusa. We might have to…” He looks pained as he speaks.

Getting to his feet abruptly, Kiyoomi brushes snow off his suit. “I refuse to accept it,” he says simply. “I am going to continue searching until I find him, and I’m sure Kageyama and Miya feel the same.”

“The shuttles are leaving tomorrow evening,” Aran tells him gently. “With or without Hinata Shouyou, all of us will have to leave. We’ve stayed long enough. The fracking equipment has been removed, it’s just the search for Hinata keeping us here. We can’t prioritise one person's life over the damage we’re doing by being here.”

It’s time for Kiyoomi to rest now. He should be getting out of his sweaty suit, showering and then sleeping while someone else tags in for him. Instead, he hefts a pack over his shoulder and turns to head back out.

He hasn’t been sleeping well recently. Each day that passes, the worry in him builds until the anxiety threatens to overwhelm him and he lies awake late into the night, catastrophising about every different way Hinata could have died, or currently be dying.

If Aran is telling the truth, then they give up the search tomorrow. One night of missed sleep won’t kill him.

Kageyama is lurking by the exit to their makeshift camp, kitted out in his own suit already. There’s a blazing determination in his eyes that says he isn’t ready to give up searching yet either. It’s no surprise, he was Hinata’s childhood friend and rival. Given that Hinata never shuts up about him, Kiyoomi assumes they’re still close despite being assigned to different ships.

“Sakusa-san,” Kageyama says. “It’s nice to see you again.”

“Hm.” Kiyoomi tucks his hands into his suit pockets. “Could have been under better circumstances.”

“I presume Ojiro-san spoke to you about the search ending?” Kiyoomi nods. Kageyama’s brow furrows. “And you’re just going to go along with it?”

Kiyoomi feels a flicker of anger. “Of course not.”

“Good. Let’s go together.” Kageyama turns, ready to head off.

“Wait,” Kiyoomi says. “Don’t be so impatient. We need to think this through.”

“There’s no time for that. We’ve had five days to think it through.”

“No one here has been thinking anything through in the last five days,” Kiyoomi says, irritated. “Otherwise we would have found him by now. Wandering aimlessly over the planet isn’t going to be a productive use of our time. We need to narrow down his location.”

Frowning, Kageyama asks: “I thought we already did that.”

Kiyoomi pulls up the map. It’s starting to lightly snow once more, and the flakes gently drift through the hologram, sending ripples across its surface. “We narrowed down the maximum distance he could have travelled or been carried by an avalanche. We didn’t narrow down places that Hinata would be likely to go himself.”

“Ah, I see.”

“Really,” Kiyoomi mutters to himself under his breath, “I should have thought of this myself originally, but I didn’t. It was a mistake.”

“Where would that dumbass go?” Kageyama puts a hand under his chin and scrunches his face, thinking. The effect is ruined slightly since he’s wearing his suit and the helmet means his hand is nowhere near his actual chin, but it’s the thought that counts, Kiyoomi supposes. “Somewhere warm, probably.”

“We’re on a frozen planet,” Kiyoomi reminds him. “But you’re right that he’d seek out places to shelter from the snow and preserve warmth.”

Kageyama’s gaze drifts to the mountains on the horizon. “High up, too. So he could see the whole view from the top.”

“Correct.”

“And somewhere with water to drink,” he says decisively. “Like a lake in the mountains formed from glacier water.”

Kiyoomi stares at Kageyama, aghast. “You can’t drink water from a glacier, Kageyama. It’s been frozen for thousands and millions of years, there’s parasites and microbes in there that are completely foreign to us. Not to mention we’re on an alien planet.”

“Ah,” Kageyama says, face blank. “I knew that.”

Kiyoomi shifts slightly further away from him. “Disgusting. I dread to think of what Wakatoshi-kun has to put up with on your planet excursions, especially with Hoshiumi-san too. But, nonetheless, you’re right. If he was knocked into an unfamiliar location, he’d likely then attempt to get to a high altitude and find somewhere to shelter.”

“So, where does it narrow it down to?”

Their eyes scan over the map, looking within the red region marked out as within Hinata’s travel radius. There’s only one place yet to be explored within the radius that fits the description.

“The mountains past the glacier,” Kiyoomi says. He feels Kageyama’s eyes on him. “Hinata wouldn’t drink the glacier water, Kageyama. Or at least I hope he wouldn’t, or I’m never going to think about kissing him again.” He mutters the last bit under his breath, far too quiet for Kageyama to hear.

“Let’s go then,” Kageyama says. “We can make it there within a few hours.”

They do their final checks - Kiyoomi insisting that their packs are full of supplies and equipment is safe - and then they’re off. 

Kageyama sets a high pace that Kiyoomi easily falls into. He can tell that Kageyama is just as eager to rescue his friend as Kiyoomi is. For the most part, it’s a silent journey. Kageyama (when he’s not around Hinata) is a man of few words, and Kiyoomi is one of even fewer. They’re an hour or so into their trek, just coming out of the end of the woods, when Kageyama first breaks the silence.

“You and the dumbass- I mean, Hinata.”

Kiyoomi looks up from his wrist monitor. They might need to pick up the pace a little bit once they get out of these woods. The stretch of cliff along the gorge should offer an opportunity for them to gain back lost time. “What?”

Kageyama looks uncomfortable, refusing to look at Kiyoomi. “What’s going on between you two?”

“At this present moment, an attempted rescue mission.” Kiyoomi dodges the question.

“You know what I mean,” Kageyama says with an irritated huff that he does his best to conceal. “Whenever we spoke over the phone, he never shut up about you. He never shuts up in general, but especially about you.”

“We worked very closely together on our missions.”

“Don’t mess me around!”

Kiyoomi sighs. “I don’t want to open up to you about feelings I’d rather keep to myself, thank you.”

“So there are feelings?”

“What are you, his father? It’s none of your business.”

“It’s my business because he’s my friend.” Kiyoomi had forgotten how stubborn Kageyama was, and it seems that age has only made him far more bold. He’s a far cry from the ‘goody two-shoes’ he was back during the academy. “He wouldn’t stop talking about you, until one day he did. He just shrugged it off whenever I asked why he was acting odd. He shut up suddenly, and didn’t even want to compete anymore.” Kiyoomi has a feeling the latter part of the sentence upsets Kageyama more.

“And why do you think it has something to do with me?”

Kageyama stops ahead of Kiyoomi, up to his knees in snow. “Because you’re acting weird too.”

“Oh, is that so?” Kiyoomi says, bored with the conversation already. 

“I’m the last person who should be telling you this,” Kageyama says, looking increasingly more and more uncomfortable. It’s like the conversation physically pains him. Kiyoomi understands. “But once we’ve saved that idiot, fix things with him, okay?”

Kiyoomi opens his mouth, and then closes it again. The words sit in the air for a moment longer before he answers. “Okay.”

“Thank god,” Kageyama says. “I never want to have this conversation again.”

“Oh, please don’t.”

Kageyama turns back again and starts walking once more, murmuring angrily to himself under his breath. Kiyoomi catches snippets of it. “Stupid idiot. Stupid tangerine. Getting lost and stranded is such a loser move, I’m counting this as one of my wins. I’ll get him back once we’re…”

Kiyoomi rolls his eyes and falls into step behind him. He’d already been planning to fix things with Hinata, and it isn’t like he needs Kageyama and Atsumu and Bokuto and everyone else to tell him to do it. It is reassuring, however, that they somehow haven’t decided he’s no longer worthy of Hinata after they way he’d hurt him.

Not that he needs their permission. If he wants to date Hinata he will, and he doesn’t give a fuck if everyone else thinks he shouldn’t.

They trudge through the snow for a few more hours until eventually they crest the top of a ridge and the glacier comes into view. It’s settled between two mountains, a frozen river running between the two peaks. It spills out into a basin just below them, stiff walls of the glacier abruptly giving way to the frozen surface of a lake, glinting ocean blue beneath the thick layer of snow that coats it.

“Oh, it’s you two.”

The voice surprises them, and Kiyoomi looks down. Below them, Atsumu leans back on his elbows, peering at the two of them. He’s lounging on the rim of the basin, legs dangling down. It’s a miracle they didn’t see him before, given how the black and gold of his suit sticks out like a sore thumb against pristine white snow.

“Atsumu-san,” Kageyama says with surprise. “What are you doing here?”

“I could ask ya the same, couldn’t I?” He lets out a small laugh. “I’m doing the same as you: trying to find Hinata.”

“Did you also realise that he’d most likely head towards a high place he could shelter?”

“What?” Atsumu asks. “No, I was just wandering around aimlessly.”

“Of course you were,” Kiyoomi says. “Either way, we’re going to explore the mountains on either side of the glacier now. Are you going to join us, or are you still having a rest break?”

Atsumu scowls, and scrambles to his feet. “I’m coming, of course. I can’t let both of ya have all the glory for rescuing Shouyou-kun.”

“What shallow motivations you have,” Kiyoomi drawls as he brushes past him, continuing their trek around the rim of the basin towards where the glacier sits, a solid structure of ice that towers at least fifty metres above them. “I’ll be sure to tell Hinata all about it when I find him.”

“Ya won’t be telling him shit, because I’ll be the one that finds him!”

Despite his brash nature, Kiyoomi finds Atsumu’s a welcome extra member of their party. He just doesn’t shut up, yammering on about this and that, and Kiyoomi finds it gives him an extra burst of energy he didn’t know he had. Kageyama must feel the same, given how his steps are quicker now.

It takes them a while to scale the mountainside next to the glacier, solid footholds and cliff edges hidden under packed layers of snow. More than once Kiyoomi has to dig his icepick in as his foot slips, or Atsumu and Kageyama have to swiftly grab onto his suit to stop him tumbling down. They’re at a decent altitude now, and when Kiyoomi pauses to catch his breath he surveys the view. The forest stretches out endlessly in front of him, hints of viridian peeking through the snow-covered tips. He can see where the river and the gorge are, a winding path gouged through the blanket of trees.

“Keep up, Sakusa-san,” Kageyama calls down. He’s already scaled a few metres above Kiyoomi, standing on a solid-looking outcrop. Kiyoomi nods, and sets off again.

He’s exhausted by the time they reach the surface of the glacier. There’s an ache deep in his bones and a twinge in his muscles that he knows means he’s overexerted himself, and he’s going to pay for it later. It’s all he can do now to ignore it.

“We’ve got to get across there?” Atsumu asks in disbelief, and Kiyoomi understands how he feels. The glacier isn’t more than a hundred metres across, but the surface of it is cut into jagged waves that look a metre or so high. From afar the surface had looked smooth, like blue marble, but up close they can see how it’s cracked and reshaped into something warped. As if someone had taken tumultuous ocean waves and just frozen them exactly as they were, and then taken an axe to it.

“There are some overhanging cliffs on the other mountain,” Kiyoomi points out. There’s fog starting to encroach down the glacier now, and it’s getting harder to see but he can still make out the grey cliffs on the other side. “Hinata could be there.”

Kageyama nods. “Let’s go.” With nimble feet, he starts to scramble across the glacier. Up a peak, and then sliding down the other side, before reappearing to scale the next one seconds later. He makes it look easy. Not to be outdone, Kiyoomi and Atsumu take off after him.

The further they get into the glacier, the closer towards the centre, the smoother the surface gets until it’s just like walking on very uneven ground. It means that when the tremor hits, at least they’re on semi-solid ground.

Kiyoomi doesn’t know what causes it. Perhaps a distant avalanche disturbed the foundations of the glacier, or perhaps the base of the glacier simply shifted, and the rest of it followed. All he knows is that one second he’s walking, and the next second the glacier is cracking. It shifts, throwing him upwards and downwards, side to side, and then right beneath him it starts to tremble.

As the ice cracks beneath his feet, Kiyoomi comes to the realisation that this is the second time recently he’s fallen to his almost-death in an attempt to save Hinata.

With a great resounding crack, the ice beneath his feet splits apart and a chasm opens up. Just wide enough for a person to fall down into, and with nothing to hold onto, Kiyoomi falls.

Down.

And down.

And down.

There’s a small ice pick on his utility belt, and the ice chasm is just wide enough for him to wiggle a hand down and grab it. Beneath him, the chasm is still opening up, the ice perpetually shifting and breaking apart. The whole glacier is moving - sheets of ice collapsing down and cracks spreading across its surface. There’s very little time to worry about Kageyama as he falls, but Kiyoomi still spares a thought to hope that he manages to get off the ice safely. Atsumu, well. Kiyoomi doesn’t have  _ that  _ many thoughts to spare.

His ice pick digs into the hard ice, sending shards flying back into Kiyoomi’s helmet. The noise it makes as it drags is horrendous, but Kiyoomi would rather have ruined hearing over two broken legs.

It seems like he’s been falling for an eternity. Looking down, he can just about see where the thick layer of ice ends. Then he’ll be freefalling again, down to whatever lies below.

It’s getting darker the further down he falls, light no longer able to penetrate easily through the depths of ice. The chasm is getting narrower, barely just wide enough for him to fit through. As he falls, he can feel the ice scraping on either side of him.

Is he going to be able to make it? There isn’t long now until he’s out of the chasm, but the ice is pressing in on either side.

He really starts to feel the pressure now, walls closing in around him even as he still falls with speed?

_ There’s enough room,  _ he tells himself.

A loosened chunk of ice knocks against his helmet, dizzying.

_ There’s enough room.  _

It’s so narrow, he doesn’t dare to even breath in. 

_ There’s enough- _

Pop!

With tight friction on either side, Kiyoomi just barely scrapes through and out of the chasm. He flails for a second, free-falling, before his feet hit solid ground. The impact sends a full body shudder of pain through him, and he falls to his knees. It takes a moment to get his bearings, to register that he’s not falling endlessly anymore, but rather is on solid ground.

It’s dark around him, but when Kiyoomi turns on his torch it brightens. Light reflects off all the frosted ice around, lighting everything seafoam blue. Beneath his feet is gravel mixed into ice, and above him that narrow chasm yawns, little more than a crack across the ceiling. He’s so far down he can’t see the sky anymore, and no light filters down.

Ahead and behind him, the frozen tunnel extends into darkness, twisting and turning, with smaller tunnels breaking off at regular intervals.

And beside him…

“Wah, Omi-san! Did you just fall for me?”

* * *

Kiyoomi has been doing a lot of falling recently.

Last time, he fell off a cliff away from Hinata. This time, he fell through ice towards Hinata.

There’s one thing that hasn’t changed: he fell for Hinata. 

* * *

(Up on the surface, Atsumu and Kageyama stare at the destroyed glacier together. The smooth, wavy surface has crumbled and broken and bent until it is an almost unrecognisable structure, not unlike a child's sandcastle knocked down. 

Atsumu takes a few steps to peer into the chasm Sakusa fell into. “Well,” he says. “That’s one way to get around, I suppose.”)

* * *

“Omi-san, did you just fall for me?”

A weak cough accompanies the joke, falling flat as Kiyoomi stares at Hinata in shock.

The other man is in bad shape. The shifting of the glacier must have affected the tunnels down here, because there are chunks of ice littered all over, and Kiyoomi can see an ice-shaped dent on Hinata’s helmet, lying discarded next to him. Hinata himself is pale and exhausted. There’s some frost just starting to form on his hair, shimmering as Kiyoomi shines a torch on him.

Kiyoomi’s first reaction is to panic. “This is no time for jokes,” he says sharply, quickly crawling to Hinata’s side. 

The light in Hinata’s eyes fades a little bit. “Ah, of course. My bad.”

Another misunderstanding. “No, that’s not what I-” He pauses.  _ What am I doing? Hinata’s life is in danger here. There are more important things.  _ “Just- Forget it.”

Hinata’s eyes watch Kiyoomi as he unpacks his supplies. “Mm.”

Without ceremony, Kiyoomi shuffles backwards and unpacks a medical scanner from his bag. It only takes a moment to do a once over of Hinata, and then the results are being projected into the air above. 

Malnutrition and dehydration.

Possible concussion.

High fever.

Severe cough and possible chest infection.

Early signs of hypothermia.

“You’re in a real state,” Kiyoomi tells Hinata as he lays out all of his supplies and surveys them. “Why’d you take your helmet off? You must be freezing.”

The emergency blanket he’s got with him isn’t big, but it’s better than nothing to wrap around Hinata’s head and upper body. Kiyoomi has his suit gloves on, so he can’t feel Hinata’s temperature, but judging by the beads of sweat frozen on his forehead he must be sweltering even in the cool temperatures of the cave.

Hinata lets out a pained wheeze, struggling to breathe.  _ Definitely a chest infection,  _ he thinks.  _ Possibility of pneumonia too, if the others don’t get here quick enough. _

“The seal on it broke,” Hinata manages to get out. “Didn’t see the point. I feel too hot, anyway.” He sounds drowsy and out of it. 

Kiyoomi tilts Hinata’s chin up and pours the small amount of medicine he always carries with him into Hinata’s mouth. “That’s because you have a fever.”

“Hm.” Hinata giggles. “I’m fever boy, Omi-san!”

Then he passes out.

Kiyoomi spends about five minutes ensuring Hinata hasn’t suddenly died, and then collapses back against the tunnel walls next to Hinata with a sigh.

Dark tunnels stretch either way from their location. Kiyoomi stares blankly at the ice walls. He found him. Hinata is here. Hinata is  _ here _ , under the glaciers. “How did he even get down here in the first place?”

Presumably, he’d gone to find shelter as soon as he could and ended up discovering one of the many winding tunnels that led down here. The avalanches and blizzards had changed the entire landscape outside, so Kiyoomi wouldn’t be surprised if the way he had entered the tunnel complex had become blocked, and he’d ventured deeper in to try and find a way out.

But he’s been down here for several days now at least. If Kiyoomi assumes that he hasn’t spent the entire week curled up down here, feverish and ill, then that means he hasn’t found an exit in all the time he’s been searching.

He looks back up again at the chasm. Only the smallest and faintest sliver of light makes it through. He can only hope now that Kageyama and Atsumu bring the rest of the rescue team over to find them.

After several failed attempts at contacting the others, Kiyoomi gives up. He has no way of knowing if his messages are reaching them through the thick ice and stone of these underground tunnels.

For now, there’s nothing to do except try and keep Hinata alive and keep the worst of his sickness at bay. He checks the air temperature. It’s far wetter down here than on the surface, which suggests more reasonable temperatures. 274K. That’s warm enough. Besides, the readings they’d managed to take before suggested an atmosphere similar to Earth’s, which means it's safe to breathe.

With a hiss, he undoes the clasp on his own helmet and takes it off. With a gentle hand behind Hinata’s head, he lifts him up and slips the helmet onto Hinata’s suit, buckling it up. It seals on. Hinata will preserve heat better this way, and the air filtration systems will hopefully stop any nasty planetary bacteria making his chest infection worse.

It does mean, however, that Kiyoomi is left breathing unknown-planet germs. He wrinkles his nose in disgust.  _ I’ll speak to HQ about extending the number of vacation days we get, _ he thinks mindlessly.  _ And a pay raise. I don’t get paid enough for this. _

Shuffling in close to Hinata, he drags the emergency blanket over both of their bodies. Going out immediately after finishing one search shift was a mistake, he realises now. The exhaustion is setting in, and in these cold temperatures he’s at risk of getting ill himself. But, when he sees the rise and fall of Hinata’s chest next to him, maybe it was worth it.

Hinata is here, and he isn’t dead.

Days and days of searching, and he managed to find him. It’s dark all around them, but Kiyoomi can see light at the end of the (metaphorical) tunnel.

Once he wakes up, they’ll focus on getting out of here and getting Hinata better medical attention. Then they’ll talk. 

Kiyoomi lightly dozes for the next few hours. It’s always dark in the cave, so if it weren’t for his wrist monitor he wouldn’t notice the passing of time.

Hinata doesn’t wake.

At first, Kiyoomi doesn’t realise the issue. It’s no surprise Hinata’s body is trying to catch up on all the missed sleep so it can focus on healing better.

It’s only when he tries to wake Hinata and give him some water (from his bottle, because unlike Kageyama he has a brain) and Hinata still doesn’t wake, does he realise that something is severely wrong.

Despite the chill in the air, Hinata is burning up when Kiyoomi takes his temperature. Even in sleep, Hinata’s face is scrunched in pain. Small whimpers and unintelligible words escape from his mouth. Kiyoomi pours water into his mouth, forcing him to drink. There isn’t much else he can do.

He surveys their supplies.

Between the two of them, there’s enough food for two, perhaps three, days. Kiyoomi had brought extra water along, but given Hinata’s condition and obvious dehydration they’re burning through it faster than expected. The medicine he gave Hinata earlier was all he had, and seems to have had little lasting effect. His suit is well-charged, but the need to have a torch on means it’ll run dry in a few days, even if he doesn’t factor in any other uses.

Kiyoomi sits with Hinata’s head on his shoulder, and thinks.

It’s been about six hours since he fell through the ice. It took them just over four hours to get to the glacier, and another to scale it, so Kageyama and Atsumu should be back at their pseudo-camp by now. That means the rescue team are likely still at the camp, planning their next move.

“Federation Law 346 Clause 28 says that disruption to a planet is unadvisable, except in extreme circumstances,” Kiyoomi muses to himself out loud. “Due to the planet’s existing occupation, this rules out them being able to drill down through the glacier to us. Which means…” He glances to his left, down the tunnel. “They have to find an alternate way into the glacier.”

The holographic map of the planet shimmers above his monitor. Skillfully, Kiyoomi zooms in on the glacier. “It’s about ten kilometres long, a hundred metres wide and four hundred deep at most. I imagine Kageyama, Miya and I didn’t venture further than a kilometre into it. Based on the structure, our best bet for finding an exit to these tunnels is heading west?” Hinata wheezes in his sleep next to him. “Good talk, Hinata.” 

Things had become so jumbled on the way down, Kiyoomi doesn’t know which way is west anymore. His compass isn’t entirely helpful. They were in the process of mapping the magnetic fields when everything had started to go very wrong, and as such the compass is entirely useless in a navigational sense.

Kiyoomi glances either way down the tunnels. Depending on whether the tunnels are pointing North to South or East to West, he’s either got a zero percent or a fifty percent chance of going in the right direction. A one in four chance. Hinata dozes beside him, barely waking as Kiyoomi removes his head from his shoulder, and leans it against the wall.

He gets to his feet and stretches, feeling his muscles protest at the movement after being still for so long. A walk would probably do him good, too, in this cold. The problem is leaving Hinata alone.

His mind runs through so many bad outcomes. Hinata gets worse while he’s gone, Hinata dies while he’s gone, he dies while exploring, he gets lost and can’t return to Hinata. If he could, he’d rather stay here with Hinata safe in his arms and wait for the others to find them. But there’s no guarantee they will, and Kiyoomi can’t just sit by passively and expect a miracle.

“In case you wake up,” he tells Hinata as he leaves a pile of water bottles and protein snacks beside him. The blanket remains tucked over and around him. Kiyoomi takes his helmet back, just in case.

As he’s pulling the helmet off Hinata’s head, he pauses for a moment and sets it down. It’s too cold to take his gloves off and properly feel the softness of Hinata’s hair, but he runs a hand through it nonetheless. Hinata stirs slightly. His head nuzzles slightly into Kiyoomi’s palm, and a warm feeling fills Kiyoomi’s chest. He squashes it down.  _ Not now.  _ “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

The tunnel is long, and rounded in such a way that Kiyoomi suspects it isn’t natural. There’s a uniformity to it that reminds him of an animal's burrow. There’s no other signs of life, but just in case he keeps his ice pick to hand. 

It seems to stretch on forever, and no matter how far he walks the tunnel keeps on going. The ceiling above drips sporadic water droplets from icicles that dangle so low he has to duck his head. His feet splash into small puddles.

He must have been walking for an hour already before he comes across the first junction. The tunnel splits into two, each of the offshoot tunnels looking identical to the original. Kiyoomi chooses the left one, and walks for another half an hour before the tunnel opens up into a cave.

The roof of the cave is far higher, towering up above so far his torch can barely reach. The far wall is half-rock, half-ice. Stalagmites and stalactites mix in with the icicles, dark grey amongst silver blue. Picking his way through the spikes, careful not to slip and fall on them, Kiyoomi examines the whole perimeter of the room. With the exception of a few holes that look like smaller versions of the tunnel he entered in through, there’s no other entrances or exits. Peering through a hole, he decides there’s no way he’ll fit through there.

“If that’s the way out, then we can accept that we’re stuck,” he says to himself. In the dark cave, his voice echoes unnaturally. Tracing back the route he came is easy, and once he’s back at the junction he takes the right tunnel instead. This time, he barely gets five minutes into the walk before he stumbles across another junction.

Three paths lie ahead of him.

Kiyoomi sighs. Once more, he picks the left path.

Another junction.

What follows for the next few hours is an elaborate maze game. With each path Kiyoomi picks, five more seem to open up. Before he knows it, he’s completely lost track of the correct path back.

“Lets see if this works,” he mutters, bringing up a holographic map. On it, his path is sketched out in red, and shaded light blue lines determine tunnel paths and junctions. “Just as I thought.” 

There’s a pattern to the tunnels. He hadn’t noticed it at first, but with every new junction that appeared, and every random dead-end cave he stumbled into, he began to experience a sense of familiarity. It’s only now that he stops and examines his progress and the map of the maze tunnels he realises.

The symbols on the tree trunks outside that he’d seen. They’re mimicked here, in the geometric tunnel routes. Kiyoomi’s sure of it. It’s a clear sign the tunnels are artificial, created by the inhabitants of the planet. A remarkable architectural feat, allowing for easy navigation.

Which, of course, then leads onto the issue that he and Hinata have clearly stumbled right into somewhere they shouldn’t be.

Regardless, now that he knows there is a pattern to the tunnels, navigating them becomes easier. Dead-ends can be discounted without wasting time exploring them. It doesn’t bring him any closer to finding an exit, however.

He’s on hour four of his exploration when he sees light up ahead. Subconsciously, his pace quickens. An exit?

Not quite, he realises as he gets closer. It’s another cave, but one that spans a much larger radius than the last few. This one has offshoot tunnels too, spreading in all directions. The ceiling extends high up, and faint light filters down through gaps in the ice and rock.

It’s not an exit, but it must be close to one. If he and Hinata wait here, the team are sure to find them easier than they would otherwise.

Knowing the route, getting back to Hinata takes less than an hour. Kiyoomi finds himself walking faster than normal, anxiety hurrying his steps. Is Hinata okay? Has he awoken?

He’s almost back to Hinata’s location when there’s a loud rumbling sound in the tunnel up ahead. It sounds like something collapsing, and the ground beneath Kiyoomi’s feet tremors slightly. Kiyoomi remembers how the glaciers had shifted drastically before, causing him to fall down into these tunnels, and breaks into a run.

_ Hinata _ .

The tunnels around him seem surprisingly unaffected as he runs. The tremors - if they could even be called that, given how weak they were - have already passed, but Kiyoomi keeps running anyway.

The first thing he sees when he rounds the corner to Hinata’s location is the other end of the tunnel, blocked off by chunks of crumbled ice and rock. They’re piled ceiling-high, blocking the entire other route of the tunnel. Hinata sticks out like a sore thumb in his black suit - sat just out of reach of the collapsed tunnel, still unconscious.  _ That was close. _

Kiyoomi hurries over to Hinata, but his pace slows as he approaches, until finally he stops a metre or so away.

Next to Hinata, right beside the piles of water and snacks Kiyoomi had left, an innocuous bowl of dark green liquid sits. Kiyoomi was not the one who left it there.

Something else has been here. Some _ one _ else has been here.

There’s nowhere for anyone to hide in these tunnels, so whoever did it must be long gone. Kiyoomi casts a cautious eye around nonetheless. As he draws closer, he sees the faintest smudges of green around Hinata’s mouth. There are a few stray drops of liquid on his suit as well, green barely visible against black.

Someone was definitely here.

Kiyoomi crouches beside Hinata, removing his helmet. He lifts the bowl, careful not to spill any of it. It doesn’t smell of anything much, but perhaps his nose has just been slightly frozen by the cold. Caution tells him not to drink it, although he knows that if it's deadly, Hinata is a goner already.

He looks at the blocked tunnel again, and then back at the bowl of green liquid. It had been placed hurriedly down by Hinata’s sleeping form, several drops splashed in the haste of whoever did it. Then, the tunnel collapsed. The two events are surely not unrelated.

For now, he decides, it would be a rash decision to pour away the bowl of liquid. Hinata is long overdue for some water, so instead he uncaps a bottle to gently pour some more into his mouth. Hinata stays asleep, and Kiyoomi sighs. “Am I going to have to carry you there, fever-boy?”

There’s no response. Kiyoomi puts a hand to Hinata’s forehead and is pleased to discover that his fever has waned slightly. He casts another look at the bowl. In the end, after draining one of the water bottles he carefully tips the green liquid into it. Then he packs all of his supplies again once more.

Between him and Hinata, there’s more than he can easily carry. It takes a bit of shuffling to put the rucksacks onto Hinata whilst he sleeps, but he manages. Getting Hinata onto his back isn’t too hard either, though he grunts at the effort. For all Hinata’s height may be small, his muscle mass certainly isn’t.

For the third time that day, Kiyoomi travels the route in the tunnels. Even as his torch light wanes slightly, the tunnels seem less intimidating with Hinata’s warmth pressed up against his back. The going is slower with an additional person, but Kiyoomi only has to stop once or twice to catch his breath.

There’s a small sheltered cave just off the main cave Kiyoomi had discovered earlier, the perfect size for two people to tuck into and stay warm. He deposits Hinata there carefully, before stretching back to his full height again. His back is going to ache after this. Hinata had mentioned he knew a chiropractor back on Earth months ago, so perhaps once they’re back…

A small groan catches his attention.

Whether it’s the jostling movement of being placed down onto the cave floor, or the light filtering through the ice above is unknown, but something stirs Hinata from sleep.

“-mi-san?” he mutters, throat dry.

“Hinata!” Kiyoomi props Hinata up, relief colouring his voice. “Are you feeling okay? Do you need water?”

“Mm, yeah,” Hinata manages to croak out, eyes still fixed shut. “Huh, you sound just like… just like Omi-san.”

“I  _ am  _ Sakusa,” Kiyoomi says, helping Hinata drink. “You’ve been out for a day or so. I found you down in these caverns. Careful, not too fast or you’ll choke.”

After a few sips, Hinata turns his head away and refuses to drink more. His eyes are still glazed with fever, and sweat beads his forehead. “You’re not Omi,” he says petulantly. “Is this a dream?” The words all slur together.

“This isn’t a dream.”

“Hm.” He frowns. “Then why’s Omi-san here, huh?”

“I came to find you,” Kiyoomi tells him. He breaks off a chunk of soft protein bar. “Try and eat a little.”

Hinata doesn’t seem to notice as the food gets fed into his mouth, chewing automatically. “Omi-san wouldn’t come to find me,” he says. “I did something bad, and now Omi-san hates me.”

Kiyoomi freezes. He hates him? Hinata, having finished the food, mindlessly licks at his fingertips. “I-” Kiyoomi stumbles over his words. “Sakusa-san doesn’t hate you, Hinata.”

“Really?  _ Really  _ really?”

“Really.”

“Then why’d he ignore me, huh? Said we weren’t… that we weren’t… weren’t friends…” Slowly, Hinata’s eyelids droop, and he falls back asleep. He’s still supported in Kiyoomi’s arms, and his head lolls against the other man’s chest.

Kiyoomi watches his face as he sleeps, looking peaceful for the first time in a while. Guilt and relief are warring inside him. “Because he’s an idiot,” he says, even though he knows Hinata can’t hear him. “He’s an asshole, and an idiot, and he just wants to apologise.”

Shifting to a more comfortable position, Kiyoomi shuffles Hinata so he’s leaning back against his chest as he rests against the wall. He can feel exhaustion lurking once more at the edge of his own vision, and finally drops his defenses to let it come rushing in.

The apology can come later, once they both awake again.

* * *

“Sakusa-san?”

At the sound of Hinata’s raspy voice, Kiyoomi’s eyes snap open immediately. Sleep dissipates as quickly as it had descended upon him before. They’re in the cave, he remembers now. He carried Hinata here, and they fell asleep against the cave wall together. Despite the coldness of the ice cave, he feels warm with Hinata against him. It’s a warmth that drives away the bone-deep chill that accompanies this whole planet.

“Hinata.”

Hinata blinks sleepily up at him. His signature sunshine smile is there, but faded. “So it is you. I thought I was just dreaming.”

“Do you dream about me often?” Kiyoomi asks skeptically.

“I-” Hinata goes bright red, and then coughs.

Kiyoomi immediately feels bad. “Hinata? Are you okay? Are you unable to breathe?” He holds up a bottle of water, ready to unscrew it. “You must be dehydrated and feverish still, you’re looking red.”

“I’m fine,” Hinata gets out after a moment, taking the bottle from Kiyoomi’s hands and gulping it down. He flails slightly when Kiyoomi presses a hand against his forehead suddenly. “I said I’m fine! Anyway, didn’t you say this was no time for jokes?”

The words hit Kiyoomi like a sledgehammer, and his hand drops away from Hinata’s forehead. “Hinata, I didn’t mean that-”

“It’s fine,” Hinata says. “You don’t have to explain, I understand! Ah, sorry, I’m sitting right on you, let me move.”

He makes to sit up and drag himself away from where he’s sat between Kiyoomi’s legs, resting against his chest, but a strong arm hooked around his midriff suddenly tugs him back. Kiyoomi himself looks surprised at his action, looking down at his arm around Hinata that holds him tight. “Uh.”

Hinata just blinks. “I can just stay here then.”

“You weren’t listening before,” Kiyoomi says, brushing over Hinata’s words.

Hinata blinks once more. “Huh?”

“You said you understood,” Kiyoomi says. His eyes don’t stray away from Hinata’s face, and his arm subconsciously tightens around him. “But you don’t.”

Relaxing slightly into his hold, Hinata asks: “What did you mean then?”

Kiyoomi himself doesn’t quite know what he meant with his words. There’s no clear-cut emotion behind them, like disgust or anger or annoyance. It’s just… “I wasn’t telling you off for joking. I was worried about you.”

“Oh.” Hinata probably doesn’t realise it, but there’s a sparkle in his eyes that returns at Kiyoomi’s words. “I can look after myself, you know.”

“Of course you can. I know that you’re more than capable of looking after yourself, as you’ve proven many times before. That doesn’t mean that I wasn’t worried about you.”

Perhaps Hinata’s fever is getting to him, because Kiyoomi’s cheeks feel hot even in the warmth of the cave. Hinata stares up at him, mouth agape and eyes sparkling.

Kiyoomi remembers his promise to Kageyama, and to Atsumu, and to Bokuto - his promise to all of them that he’d sort things out with Hinata finally. Now is the time, he’s decided. It’s the perfect moment.

He looks out at the rest of the cave, preparing his words. “Hinata,” he says. “Hinata, I-”

A snore interrupts him from below.

Hinata, still recovering from his fever, has fallen asleep once more.

Kiyoomi sighs.

The universe is once again conspiring against him to make his life as difficult as possible.

While Hinata rests, there’s not much he can do to keep himself occupied. With the last remaining charge in his suit and wrist monitor, Kiyoomi attempts to send messages to the rescue crew once more. There’s no reply except the echo of his own voice as he stares up at the thick ceiling of ice that encases them here.

To pass another hour or so, he tinkers around with the location tracker in his wrist monitor to turn it into a tracking beacon. Without proper tools it's an arduous task, but for once he’s grateful he chose his second specialisation aboard the  _ MSBY  _ to be engineering. It’s a rudimentary tracking beacon, and prone to catching fire at any moment due to the shoddy wiring job, but it’s something. At least if it catches fire they’ll have something to keep them warm.

He’s midway through exploring some of the many tunnels branching off from this cave when he hears the sounds of Hinata stirring once more. He watches as Hinata struggles to sit up, body still weak, and glances around the cave. His whole body visibly slumps with relief when he spots Kiyoomi making his way back across the cave.

“I thought I’d dreamt you up,” Hinata admits. 

Kiyoomi hands him a protein bar. “Fortunately not.”

“Mm, fortunately.” A crumb of food goes down the wrong way, and sets off a violent coughing fit in Hinata. Kiyoomi drops to a crouch beside him, carefully checking his chest. Hinata’s still sick, and the fluid building up in his chest doesn’t sound good.

His eyes fall on the water bottle filled with the green liquid. Memory of the collapsed tunnel and the green smears around Hinata’s mouth return.

Once Hinata has his breathing under control again, Kiyoomi holds the bottle out to him. “Drink this.”

Hinata eyes it skeptically. “What is this? Looks like medicine.”

“It is,” Kiyoomi confirms. “That said, if you drink it and feel anything out of the ordinary, let me know.”

“Sounds suspicious. But if it’s you, Omi-san, then I know I can trust it.” He tips the bottle back. Kiyoomi can only hope he’s understood the situation correctly as he watches Hinata gulp it down. When it’s all gone, Hinata scrunches his face up. “Yep, definitely tastes like medicine. Man, can they not make this stuff taste better?”

Kiyoomi settles down cross-legged next to him. “If they made it taste better, people like you and Bokuto-san would drink it for fun.”

“I wouldn’t do that!”

Kiyoomi fixes him with a look.

“Maybe I’d do that.”

He doesn’t even need to fully raise his eyebrow before Hinata pouts at him.

“So cruel, Omi-san.”

A long silence falls between them after his words. Hinata lies back with a sigh, wrapping the emergency blanket around his shoulders tightly. Kiyoomi watches his face, thinking.

“Hinata,” he says after a few moments of pause.

“Mm, yeah?”

“Yesterday, before you fell asleep, I was going to apologise to you.”

Hinata sits bolt upright. “You what?” There’s a look of genuine shock on his face.

“I was going to apologise for my actions before,” Kiyoomi explains. “I didn’t get a chance to before all this happened, but I want you to know I truly apologise.”

There’s a disbelieving frown on Hinata’s face. “Do you know what you’re apologising for?” he asks. “Or are you just apologising because everyone told you to?”

It’s an understandable concern. Kiyoomi isn’t the most emotionally intelligent person and he knows this. “I will admit that everyone’s rather creative threats were a catalyst for me doing this, but they weren’t the reason. I’m apologising because I realise now that I was acting irrationally and selfishly, and out of lack of care for others I hurt you. I was so focused on what I was feeling that I didn’t consider how my behaviour was impacting you. I’ve not only been a bad friend, but a bad teammate. It was my actions that caused friction and resulted in our situation here today, and I accept that.”

“Eh? What happened isn’t your fault, Omi-san!”

“I appreciate your kindness as always, Hinata, but it is my fault and I need to accept responsibility for it.” He leans back against the ice behind him, staring up at the ceiling in an attempt to ignore how Hinata’s eyes bore into his face. “It scared me how much I cared about you. I’ve never felt that way about anyone before, so I pushed you away. I hurt you, and I’m sorry.”

Hinata stays resolute. “That still doesn’t mean what happened today is your fault, unless you planned for a cliff to collapse on you.”

Kiyoomi sputters. “Of course not!”

“Then it isn’t your fault.” Hinata’s voice is gentle. “I accept your apology, though.”

“You do?”

Hinata lets out a hum. “Mhm. I missed you these past few weeks. I noticed you started acting weirdly just before we had our break on Earth, but I thought you were just impatient to go home. When you ignored me at Onigiri Miya, that’s when I realised.” He takes in a deep breath, and then exhales. “It really hurt me when you said that you didn’t care about me, and you didn’t want to spend any time with me. You wouldn’t even look at me anymore.”

“Hinata…”

“I thought maybe you’d gotten tired of me,” he says, and Kiyoomi’s heart aches. “Lots of people do. They think I’m fun, but then after a while they say that I’m  _ too much _ . Too loud, too bright, too annoying. I thought that I’d pushed you too far. That maybe I was taking more than you were willing to give.”

“Never,” Kiyoomi says. He hesitates, but then reaches out to take Hinata’s hand in his. “I mean, perhaps. But that wasn’t your fault, it was mine. I was having all these emotions and I didn’t know how to handle them.”

“Aw, I’m Omi-san’s first friend?”

Kiyoomi tries to ignore the way his face is burning. “I wasn’t talking about friendship feelings.”

“Eh?”

There’s a long silence.

“ _ Eh _ ?”

The sound echoes off the cave walls, and Kiyoomi sighs. “I don’t know why this is a surprise to you. I thought it was obvious.”

“How was it obvious?”

“Everyone else seemed to notice,” Kiyoomi mutters. “Miya and Bokuto never shut up about it.”

“I thought they were teasing  _ me  _ about my hopeless crush on you!”

“Your what?”

Hinata looks embarrassed. “My really obvious crush on you that you clearly didn’t reciprocate. I thought… I thought that was partly why maybe you’d pushed me away. That’s why I tried to stay away when you said you didn’t care for me any more than you did the others. I thought it was a hint that I had been too obvious and it’d made you uncomfortable.”

“Believe me,” Kiyoomi says with a groan, thinking about all of the drama that could have been avoided if they both weren’t so wrapped up in their own feelings and assumptions, “I had absolutely no idea. I thought you just wanted to be friends.”

“And now? What do you think?”

There’s a warmth thrumming in Kiyoomi’s veins that even the cold of the cave can’t dissipate. “I think that I like you a lot, Hinata Shouyou.”

“Omi-san-”

“Kiyoomi,” Kiyoomi interrupts. 

“Kiyoomi,” Hinata says. His face breaks into a wide smile that stretches his cheeks and Kiyoomi doesn’t even feel the cold nipping at him anymore. Not when he’s got the sun right in front of him, and gentle solid fingers intertwined into his. “I like you a lot too, Kiyoomi!”

A small smile curves its way onto Kiyoomi’s lips. “I’m glad.”

Hinata wriggles closer to him, and then slings one leg over so he’s sat in Kiyoomis lap facing him. “We’re idiots, aren’t we?”

Kiyoomi does his best to ignore the tingle in his spine at Hinata’s heavy weight on his lap. “We’re idiots,” he agrees. “You can never tell anyone - especially Miya - that I said that.”

Miming locking his lips, hinata says: “Roger that, Lt Sakusa.” He leans forward so he’s in Kiyoomi’s personal space, still-fever-warm forehead resting against Kiyoomi’s. “I really do like you a lot, Omi-san. Can I?” His fingers reach for Kiyoomi’s facemask, gently brushing against the cool skin of Kiyoomi’s cheek.

They’ve just looped around the top of the mask when there’s a sudden hand pushing his face away abruptly, and another one taking his hand in theirs.

“Sorry,” Kiyoomi says flatly. “But you’ve just been deadly ill, and the only thing that saved you was suspicious medicine left by complete alien strangers. I’m not kissing you until you’ve disinfected your entire mouth.”

“Omi-san,” Hinata whines. “That’s not romantic! We were having a romantic moment! You ruined it!” Then he pauses. “Wait, what do you mean you fed me suspicious medicine?”

Oops.

In an attempt at distraction, Kiyoomi intertwines his fingers with Hinata’s again, and uses their joint hands to tug him in close for a hug. Hinata’s head settles onto his shoulder, and Kiyoomi buries his face into the crook of Hinata’s neck. Soft ginger hair tickles his nose. He breathes in slowly, and gives Hinata’s hand a squeeze. “We can do this, though.”

Hinata’s voice is muffled by the fabric of Kiyoomi’s suit. “Once I’ve disinfected my mouth, I’m going to kiss you so much. You won’t know what hit you! I’ll be like wham,  _ whapush _ ! You won’t be able to escape my kisses.”

That doesn’t sound too bad, Kiyoomi thinks. After all, they have a lot of lost time to make up for. “I look forward to it,” he says. 

Another arm comes up to loop around his shoulders as Hinata cuddles in even closer, clinging like a koala to Kiyoomi. Kiyoomi doesn’t want to ever let go, no matter how impractical it is.

That’s how the rescue team finds them a few hours later when they stumble into the cave, eyes squinting up at the sudden brightness. The raggedy group look exhausted, worked to the bone in search of their missing friends. Their relief is palpable when they spot Hinata and Kiyoomi, both together and alive. Bokuto lets out a loud hoot of excitement when he spots them, and then quiets when Hinata presses a finger to his lips and shushes him.

“Oi, oi,” Oikawa asks, taking a few steps further into the room. He raises an eyebrow. “What’s all this, chibi-chan?”

Atsumu, ever the opportunist, pulls out a camera. “There’s no way I’m not taking photos of this.”

Hinata gives a small smile as they approach. “He’s sleeping,” he says, one hand stroking through Kiyoomi’s hair.

Beneath him, one hand still holding Hinata’s and the other loosely around his waist, Kiyoomi slumbers on. The exhaustion of everything - the search, experiencing emotions he’s never felt before, confessing to Hinata - has finally caught up with him. 

Crouching down to grab their packs, Komori let out a laugh. “Very unlike Kiyoomi to miss the important moments.”

“We’ll make fun of him for it on the  _ MSBY  _ later, don’t worry,” Atsumu assures Komori, who shoots him a thumbs up in approval. “Hey, Shouyou-kun, would ya mind waking the sleeping beast for us? I’m afraid if one of us tries he’ll bite our hand off.”

“Ah! Let him sleep for now,” Hinata says, shooting a fond look at Kiyoomi’s sleeping face. “He’s exhausted. I think he needs the rest.”

(Besides, Hinata thinks, Kiyoomi is certainly going to need all the energy he can get to keep up with Hinata once they’re both safe and healthy back aboard the  _ MSBY _ . He’s not letting that man out of his sight for at least a week if he can help it.)

“Dibs on not carrying him!” Atsumu says. “Hey, Shou-kun, I’ll carry ya!”

“Okay, Atsumu-san! Here I go!”

“Oh, fuck, wait one sec-“

_ Crash _ !

“What are you two  _ idiots  _ up to now?”

“Ah, Omi-Omi! Good to see ya alive and less emotionally constipated than before! Ya finally got yer head out of your ass, did ya? Oi, wait! Komori-san, tell yer cousin to stop trying to stab me with an icicle! Help, Shouyou-kun, yer boyfriends on a murderous rage!”

“You won’t make it back to the  _ MSBY  _ in one piece if you don’t shut up now, Miya.”

“Now, now, everyone...”

* * *

In the noise and the hubbub of their exit, everyone too caught up on the elation of a successful rescue mission, no one notices the eyes that watch them from dark and winding tunnels.

No one except for Kiyoomi, who tugs on Hinata’s hand for a second to get his attention, and then nods towards them. In the vast darkness, the eyes - so many of them, so varied in size and colour and brightness that there almost seems to be no unifying characteristic between them - shimmer brightly like ice in sunlight. They blink at them once, solemnly. 

Kiyoomi bows, and Hinata quickly follows. Ahead of them, the others have yet to notice. They don’t say anything. They don’t need to. The message is clear, just as it was back in the collapsed tunnel.

Please, leave and do not return.

That is one command that Kiyoomi is more than happy to obey. 

Hefting Hinata onto his back, he feels Hinata’s arms wrapping right around his neck, and that wide sunshine grin pressed into his neck. “Let’s go home,” Hinata says.

“Yes,” Kiyoomi says. “Let’s.”

* * *

_[The recorder switches on with a crackle. A low, calm voice speaks first.]_ _“Lieutenant Sakusa Kiyoomi, Head Researcher of the Black Jackals unit. Date: Year 2235. This is the 199th log.”_

_ [A scuffling noise in the background, before another voice speaks. This one is more enthusiastic, volume far louder than previous.] “Lieutenant Hinata Shouyou here! We’re currently completing the penultimate mission of the  _ MSBY _ Exploration Mission, which is very exciting.” _

_ “Shouyou, focus.” _

_ “Ah, sorry Omi-san! We’re on  _ Kejj-ar _ \- boy that’s a mouthful. Status is Earth-like. Equilibrium surface temperature of approximately 300K, with variations for longitude. Currently, in the southern hemisphere, in a tropical forest biome.” _

_ [A new, loud voice cuts across the recording.] “Shit, look at that bird!” _

_ [Another new speaker.] “Holy fuck, it’s like a rainbow.” _

_ “Stay quiet.” [The words are hissed. The two new voices fall silent.]  _

_ [The enthusiastic voice speaks again.] “Exploration length of approximately 5 days. We’ll be taking samples from different biomes at different planetary locations. Hm, anything else?” _

_ “Not of importance. Let’s switch this off for now and-” _

The recording cuts out, and Kiyoomi slides the recorder back into his pack. “Alright,” he says. “I’d hope by now, three years into this mission, that you’d know what to do by now.”

Hinata wields his secateurs like a sword. “Aye aye, captain!”

Kiyoomi shoots him a look. “Don’t cut yourselves on those, Shouyou.”

“I’m always careful, you know I am!” He steps forward to peck a kiss onto the end of Kiyoomi’s nose, reaching up on his tiptoes to do so. Kiyoomi goes cross-eyed trying to watch him. When Hinata draws back, he shoots Kiyoomi a bright sunshine smile. “You only want the cuttings without leaves on them, right?”

“What? No. Shouyou, you need to…” Hinata skips off as Kiyoomi calls after him, and it’s only when Atsumu bursts into laughter that he realises Hinata was messing with him. He sighs.

Atsumu struggles to conceal his snorts even as Kiyoomi’s furious gaze latches onto him. He flaps a hand in the air nonchalantly, as if to say  _ alright, I’ll get to work in a minute, just let me have this, okay? _

It’s easy to settle into their comfortable rhythm of work now. After all, it’s been three years of exploring planets with this team, just the four of them. Bokuto gets the rock and soil samples, Kiyoomi supervises setting up the equipment for any measurements of atmosphere, magnetic field or anything else they need to take, Atsumu collects water samples, and Hinata takes clippings and plant samples.

For all Kiyoomi’s complaints about their lack of professionalism, meagre knowledge of ecology and tendency to get distracted, they’ve been a good team to work with. Now that he knows their personalities - and it’s hard not to, after three years of being together almost constantly - it’ll be hard to adjust to a new crew when they get reassigned after this mission. Bokuto and Atsumu are annoying, but at least he knows their bad habits. New people means more people for Kiyoomi to get pissed off at.

But before the reassignment, they’ve got a several months long break back on Earth.

Bokuto lets out a sigh from a few metres away as he sits back on his haunches, wiping sweat off his forehead. There’s dirt all over his gloves, and not as much in the collection pot as there should be. “Man, it’s hot.”

A hum of agreement comes from the trees above, Hinata carefully perched on a branch as he cuts slivers of spongy bark from the tree. Beneath the hard green exterior, the insides of the tree trunk are soft like marshmallow, and tinted bright turquoise. “It reminds me of when I was in Brazil. Wah, I can’t wait to go back.”

“Yer going back to Brazil this break then, Shouyou-kun?” Atsumu asks, knee deep in a small river. The water glistens golden in a way that Kiyoomi tries to pretend doesn’t look like piss. “Lucky! Osamu asked me to help out at Onigiri Miya for a while. Something about a busy event coming up that he needs extra hands for.”

“Osamu-san just knows that you can’t be left to your own devices for more than two days, like a toddler,” Kiyoomi says, voice flat as he sets up the equipment controls. His brow furrows as the machine beeps at him, denying the settings once more.

“Mean!” Atsumu says, pointing a finger accusing at Kiyoomi. “Shouyou-kun, yer boyfriend’s being mean again!”

“Don’t mind, Atsumu-san! I’m sure Osamu-san doesn’t think that.”

“No, he does.” Atsumu’s voice is despondent. “That’s the worst bit.”

Hinata slides down the trunk of the tree, glass vials clasped in his hands. “Are you doing anything fun this break, Bokuto-san?” he asks.

There’s a dopey smile on Bokuto’s face, and Kiyoomi already knows what the next words out of his mouth will be without him saying them. “I’m going to see Keiji! I haven’t told him when exactly we get back on Earth, so I’m going to surprise him. He’ll come home from work and boom, I’m there!”

Kiyoomi knows Bokuto well enough to know that this plan is not going to end how he thinks it will.

“What about you two then? I’m surprised you two lovebirds aren’t spending it together.”

“Call me a lovebird again and I’ll ask Osamu-san to give you extra shifts, Miya,” Kiyoomi says. “Besides, who said we’re not spending it together?”

Both Bokuto and Atsumu pause in their work, heads swivelling towards him. “Yer going to Brazil?” Atsumu’s voice is surprised.

Hinata answers before Kiyoomi can. “Yeah! I asked him to come with me. I wanna introduce Kiyoomi to all of the friends and family I made out there.”

“Sakusa is going to willingly spend time in a hot country socialising with strangers?” Bokuto questions. “For fun?”

Jamming a finger grumpily onto his tablet, Kiyoomi asks: “Is it so bizarre I want to know more about my partner's life? I thought that was a standard thing in relationships. Not that you would know, Miya.”

“Oi!”

There’s a sudden heavy weight on his shoulders as Hinata drapes himself over Kiyoomi’s back. “I love you, Omi-san,” Hinata says, nuzzling his head into Kiyoomi’s hair. Kiyoomi lets out an indulgent sigh, twisting his head slightly so Hinata can press a chaste kiss against his forehead. 

“If you loved me you’d get me the high branch cuttings I asked for,” Kiyoomi says. 

Hinata freezes, cheek still pressed against Kiyoomi’s. “I’ll get on that.” Despite his words, he doesn’t move.

“You two are sickening,” Atsumu declares. “We should have left ya in that cave to perish.”

“Now, now, just because Aran-san ghosted you when you asked him on a date doesn’t mean you can take your anger out on those of us in healthy relationships,” Kiyoomi says with a smirk.

“That was a low blow! A  _ low blow _ . He didn’t mean to ghost me, I’m sure!”

Bokuto speaks up. “I believe you, Atsumu! I’m sure something just came up and he couldn’t reply. That’s happened to me before. Kenma didn’t answer my messages for like, a year, because his cat ate his phone. It’s so annoying.”

“Uh, Bokkun-”

Hinata’s arms squeeze around Kiyoomi’s waist, drawing his attention away from the still-beeping controls. “I can’t wait until we land on Earth and can have some time alone together.”

An indulgent smile curls its way onto Kiyoomi’s lips. “Me neither.” Seeing his boyfriend everyday is wonderful, but the concepts of  _ privacy  _ and  _ alone time _ are foreign aboard the  _ MSBY _ . Kiyoomi’s not one for PDA, but it’s rather hard to avoid it when there’s almost nowhere on the ship that doesn’t have someone occupying it. The rear viewing deck has become almost like a secret place for them both to go and unwind and get a much needed break - after Kiyoomi had deep cleaned it, of course.

“I’m going to miss this, though,” Hinata sighs, chin digging into Kiyoomi’s shoulder. “Exploration missions just won’t be as fun without you.”

“I, personally, think I’ll be far more productive without you hanging onto me like a limpet as I work,” Kiyoomi says, and then yelps in pain when Hinata playfully stabs at his side. 

“You’ll miss me too,” Hinata says with confidence. “You won’t find another research assistant as good as me on your new crew.”

“Of course I won’t.” Kiyoomi’s words are almost instant.

“You’d better not.”

It won’t be the same anymore, after this mission is over and done with. They’ll have their six months together on Earth, and then they’ll most likely be assigned to different ships and spend the next three years apart.

When Kiyoomi had joined the  _ MSBY _ Black Jackals team, he’d confidently declared that he wanted nothing to do with any of them, especially not Hinata. He wasn’t there to make friends, he was there to get through the next three years with as little hassle as possible. Somehow, he managed to fail on both accounts, because he emerged with two people he’d consider friends and a boyfriend, and endured more than enough hassle for an entire lifetime. 

He’ll miss their team when the mission ends. He’ll miss slinging playful insults with Atsumu, and working out with Bokuto, and doing research work in the lab with Hinata. It’s the end of their little team together, unless by some miracle they end up assigned together.

But it’s not the end of their friendship, and Kiyoomi has never been so glad Hinata forcibly dragged him from his shell. Sure, he won’t get to see them every day and work beside them, but they’ll stay in touch. They’ll catch up, and he’ll surely get to insult Atsumu again, and work out with Bokuto again. It’s not like those two, tenacious and sociable as they are, would ever let him fade away into the background.

And Hinata will still be there for him, waiting for the time they can see each other in person again. Kiyoomi had never thought of himself as a long-distance relationship kind of guy before (or any kind of relationship guy, if he was being honest) but if it’s Hinata then it’s worth it. Even if the distance between them stretches to thousands and millions of parsecs, Kiyoomi’s feelings won’t change. 

Even if they spend the next three years apart, they’ve got the rest of their lives together.

Hinata must feel Kiyoomi’s gaze on him, watching him from the side with soft eyes, and his lips curve into a smile. He tilts his head to one side, peering up at Kiyoomi. “Love you, Omi-san.”

Kiyoomi doesn’t answer, just leans down to press a soft kiss against Hinata’s lips. Hinata melts into it, hands grasping at Kiyoomi’s suit as he tries to tug him ever closer. Everything else almost seems to fade away until there’s nothing left but  _ Hinata Hinata Hinata _ , he’s everywhere and Kiyoomi can’t breathe, can’t even think of anything but Hinata.

An anguished scream cuts through the air, and Hinata jolts. His teeth clack against Kiyoomi’s painfully, and they both wince back. A few metres away, Atsumu is writhing in pain, holding onto his arm as he howls. Attached to the end of one of his fingers is a small creature, somewhere between a frog and a shark, latched tightly on.

“Fucking shit fuck shit!” he swears. 

Maybe he needs to reassess, Kiyoomi thinks. Perhaps he won’t miss this that much after all.

While Hinata rushes to help, pulling out their emergency First Aid kit, Kiyoomi pulls out his communicator with practiced ease, as if he’s done this hundreds of times before.

“MSBY, we have a problem.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And we're done! Congratulations if you managed to get through all of it, and I apologise for making omihina kiss Literally Once in 52k words I'm sorryyyy ;-; but wow, what a journey! I've been writing this since October, so it's incredible to think it's finally done and out there for people to enjou :')
> 
> I really hope that you did enjoy this fic, I certainly had fun writing it (MSBY are a Joy!). If you did, please do let me know through a comment - or even just a kudos or bookmark, they really make my day! You're also more than welcome to come and yell with me on twitter, I'm at [@catboyeijun](https://twitter.com/catboyeijun) and I love to yell with new people!!! also please do check out Vins' twitter [@mortalatte](https://twitter.com/mortalatte) to see more of their art, as well as their [ao3](https://archiveofourown.org/users/mortalatte/pseuds/mortalatte) account if you're a fan of oihina!
> 
> Once more, THANK U so much for reading, and thank u to the bb mods and everyone else who helped me write this monster of a fic ;-; ilu all

**Author's Note:**

> for reference: when I refer to the academy and the inter high, they're Not playing volleyball aha! imagine it like an academy for space cadet training and they all get together to compete and test skills once a year (if any of you have seen Enders game, I imagine something similar to that!)


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